The Last Doctor: Legend of the Maze Master Book 2 : Past Lives
by Aline Riva
Summary: Sequel to Book One of a Crystal Maze/Doctor who crossover Trilogy. Ed has forgotten he is a Time Lord, until his previous regeneration known as Reckless Rick turns up demanding to take the power crystals - but why is the Tardis, manifesting as Idris, refusing to give them up? And what is the dark secret that the Tardis is keeping from her beautiful thief? *Dr Ed/Dr Rick/Ace/Idris*
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note: ****Yes, I decided to write a sequel to The Last Doctor: Legend of the Maze Master. I had a plot for it and it was too good ****_not _to write, even though this fic and Book 1 are the only crossovers I've ever written. I'm enjoying the Crystal Maze/Doctor Who themes so much, I couldn't resist writing Book Two! And Book 3 will soon follow making this a trilogy!**

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**The Legend of the Maze Master Book 2 : Past Lives**

**Summary:**

**Sequel to The Last Doctor: Legend of the Maze Master. **

**Three months have passed since Ace said goodbye to the Professor and started a new life with Ed, the Doctor's final incarnation, who remembers nothing of his lives as a Time Lord due to the disconnection from the Tardis power core. **

**Their life together has been peaceful in the house with the magical maze hidden away behind the secret door at the bottom of the garden, and the Doctor, who calls himself Ed, remembers only the Maze and Ace and questions nothing – until strange events begin to happen as the Tardis, now disguised as their house beings to slowly transform back into a Tardis, and informs Ace that time streams _will_ cross...**

**Knowing Ed is in danger as a Time Lord with no regenerations left and no memory of his past, Ace makes plans for the two of them to leave – but that night as a storm rages overhead, the sound of a Tardis landing fills the air, and as Ed sleeps, Ace goes out into the night to investigate, and is shocked to find another version of the Doctor has arrived – a mysterious man in a leopard print jacket, who claims to be Ed's former regeneration, who has learned of his own impending demise and now intends to change destiny, avoiding his own death and altering the time line forever. **

**He demands that Ed hand back the power crystals, claiming it was his idea before regeneration to add more power to the Tardis core and now he intends to use it to change the future, and when Ed refuses, he uses his own Tardis to transform the maze into a dark and sinister place – which he claims was his own design before regeneration, which he intended to turn into a trap for his enemies. He then offers Ed a deal – to hand over the crystals in exchange for full control of the maze once more – and Ed turns him down - but then Rick makes him an offer he can't refuse – the chance to regain his lost memories...**

**Ace begs him to leave Ed alone, telling him his future self has no memory of being a Time Lord, and reminding him he has no regenerations left, and to learn the truth could prove dangerous on many levels, but his former self is determined to get what he wants no matter the cost to the future and the time line, proving there is a reason why this leopard print wearing former incarnation of the Doctor is known as Reckless Rick...**

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**Rated: T**

**Disclaimer:**** I own nothing, this is a work of fan fiction.**

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Chapter 1

The sun was sinking to rest in a sky tinged amber. Ace McShane stood where the trees parted, opening up into a view across the fields where barley grew tall and pale, looking golden in the light of the fading day.

A breeze blew warm across the field, making the hem of her white summer dress dance, brushing her sun kissed legs as the hem lifted and danced against her thighs. Her light brown hair whipped back and she ran her fingers through it, briefly thought of a man in a blue box who she used to call Professor, and then she smiled as she thought of the life she had exchanged her travels for, to be with the Doctor's final incarnation:

_'Once upon a time, there was a Time Lord who ran out of regenerations. And in his very last life when the Earth was under threat, he made the ultimate sacrifice to save the planet he loved. His time machine was damaged and so was he, and the wounded Time Lord became one with the power core of his time machine, where he slept for a hundred years while his Tardis drifted dreaming in deep space... And then I came along to set him free. But his mind was fused with the heart of the Tardis, and separating him from it caused him harm – and the clever Tardis saved him by limiting the damage caused by the separation, saving his life but destroying his memories of all his past lives in the process. Now we live on Earth and our home is really the Tardis, and he doesn't question why there's a secret door to a magical maze at the bottom of the garden. He doesn't question anything, because he knows nothing of before. I know he's really the Doctor, but he doesn't. To him, he's just Ed, and I'm just Ace, and that's all fine by me, because we're happy...'_

And again her gaze fixed skyward as she thought about the worlds beyond and the blue box that travelled through space and time.

And then she smiled and turned back, leaving the past behind as sure as she had turned away from the skies and the thoughts that slipped beyond it as she went back down the pathway, unlatched the gate and went back into the garden.

As Ace closed the gate behind her, she paused to listen:

Above the sound of birds singing in the trees, another sound was just about audible – it was a faint, soft echo that ran through the garden and the house, it even extended through the hidden wall and down into the maze – it was the hum of the Tardis, a quiet reminder that this place had once been a ship now unfolded and disguised, hiding the truth forever, even from the Doctor...

* * *

The garden was still bathed in the glow of the late afternoon sun as it sank lower, the heat of the day that had been so scorching had cooled to a comfortable warmth and the air was filled with the scent of the flowers that filled the busy borders surrounding the lawn.

A thought crossed her mind that the Tardis had certainly created a lovely place to live, and then she smiled again as she guessed thoughts of the Tardis in its true identity would never really be far from her mind, even though she could not share that knowledge with Ed, because he remembered nothing, and it was better that it stayed that way...

As she went through the open doorway and into the house she looked around the empty room, the TV was off and the house seemed to be in silence.

"Ed?" she said softly, trying not to worry too much as she reminded herself he slept a lot – he had been in the habit of doing that ever since his disconnection from the power core – but she still felt worried and was sure she always would because what he had been through had changed him. All his past memories of life as a Time Lord were gone, before this she had only known him in his hologram state, and there was such a difference between the two – now she was more aware of just how vulnerable he was, a Time Lord in his final lifetime, with no hope of regeneration – it was a good thing he knew nothing of his past, because that way it could never haunt him...

She left the room and went out into the hallway. At the end of the hall a clock was ticking and the sound echoed, and her thoughts were back with time once more. Time and him and all the other lives he had ever lived, lives he would never remember...

Then she went down the hall towards the kitchen, running her fingers along smooth walls covered with wallpaper patterned with tiny buttercups against a pale background – that smooth wall ended where three old Tardis roundels were set in the wall, a reminder to share with only her, a reminder of the truth about the house...

Ace walked into the kitchen and smiled.

Ed was sitting at the kitchen table and as she went over to join him she looked down at the odd collection of items he had placed in a circle on the table:

House keys, a calculator, coloured buttons, a telephone, an open deck of playing cards set out randomly...

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Ed looked at the items on the table and then back at Ace.

"I don't know," he said, "I think I was trying to make...something."

And Ace laughed as she stepped closer, ran her fingers through his dark hair and then kissed him fondly.

"Well I haven't got a clue what it could be!"

And then she looked again. A thought hit her suddenly and her smile faded... it was almost like..._a Tardis console?_

"What gave you the idea to do this?" she asked him.

" I think I had a dream but I can't remember it."

"I wouldn't pay too much attention to dreams," she told him, and she went over to the cupboard and took out two china mugs.

"I think its a nice evening to have tea in the garden," Ace added.

Ed was still looking at the circular arrangement on the table.

"I think it needs something in the middle," he said.

And Ace caught her breath as the same thought ran through her mind again:

_Like a Tardis console.._.

Then a sound cut through the air, a scraping, stretching and the cracking of plaster.

"What was that?" she said.

"What?" Ed replied, still looking thoughtfully at the objects on the table.

And Ace turned her head, looked through the open doorway and as she saw the three roundels set in the wall had now increased to six, she gave a gasp and there was a crash of china against tiles as she dropped a mug on the floor.

She set the other one down and looked down at the shattered pieces.

Ed stared at her.

"Ace? What's the matter?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, "I'll clear this mess up."

As she swept up the china she glanced through the open doorway:

_Still six of them, where there used to be three..._

She threw the swept up china into the bin and turned back to Ed.

"I can't make sense of it," he said, gathering up the random items into the middle of the table, "Like you said, dreams are nothing."

And then as his blue eyes met with her gaze he noticed she looked on edge.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Ace was shivering. It was the kind of shiver only she could feel, deep in her bones as if she had just stepped off a rollercoaster, but she couldn't hide the fear in her eyes as she looked at him and remembered he was in his final regeneration, his memory had been wiped and he could not remember his past, and that past could be dangerous – it could harm him in so many ways, especially if old enemies were to look him up...it didn't bear thinking about...

"I'm fine," she said, and took another mug from the cupboard and switched on the kettle.

"Are you sure about that?"

Ed got up from the table.

Ace turned her head and forced a smile.

"I'm fine. Go and wait for me in the garden."

Ed paused to kiss her fondly, and then he went outside.

* * *

Ace left the kettle to boil and went out to the hallway, she glanced over her shoulder to be sure she wouldn't be seen, then she ran her hand over the Tardis roundels.

"What _are _you playing at?" she whispered, looking up as she hoped to hear the voice of Barbara, but there was no reply.

"He can't hear you, he's in the garden!" Ace said, "Answer me, Tardis! What's going on?"

"Tardis form is expanding," the voice replied softly.

And the reply made no sense.

"What for?" Ace asked, "I don't understand!"

"The time line is being altered," Barbara replied, "Events are not yet established but the time streams _will _cross."

Her eyes widened.

"No, you can't let this happen! He's in his final lifetime, he can't remember anything, he doesn't know he's the Doctor! He needs protecting, don't you get that?"

"I am unable to prevent the crossing of time streams," the voice replied, "But Tardis function can and will expand accordingly."

"That's no answer!" Ace said sharply, but the voice gave no more reply.

Ace ran her hand over the roundels and then turned away, walking back into the kitchen as the kettle hit boiling point and her temper did much the same and she forced her anger aside as she made the tea and thought of Ed and wondered how she could protect him from what ever risks might be lurking around the corner...

* * *

Ace had taken a few deep breaths before joining Ed in the garden.

They sat together beneath the shade of a tree at a wooden bench and she looked into his eyes and thought again how the separation from the power core had changed him – he just didn't know the truth, that he was the Doctor, a man who had fought battles all over the universe through space and time, who had lived many lives... he recalled none of it, and she was determined it would stay that way, for both their sakes. It hadn't been so scary to think the Professor had faced danger so many times because things had been different back then – in those days, he still had regenerations to use up...

"You still look worried."

Ace snapped out of her thoughts of her former life travelling with the Seventh Doctor and looked into the eyes of the man she loved. He was still the Doctor, but the last one – many, many regenerations after the man she had known as Professor...

"I'm not worried," she replied, and she reached across the bench and placed her hand over his, smiling as she looked into his eyes.

"Ed, do you ever think about life outside of this place?"

Her question surprised him.

"Beyond this house and the garden and the maze? No, why should I? It's always been here, it's a part of me...that's how it feels."

"And you don't question that?"

He shook his head.

"I never question any of it, I've no need, I know I belong here."

His reply had not surprised her. It had been three months since the Tardis had remodelled itself into its current form, three months since he had been disconnected from the power core and had his memory wiped in the process. Since then, he had lived quietly here at the house, connecting most of all with his memories of his sense of belonging in the maze hidden behind the old wall at the bottom of the garden, feeling the connection, not understanding why, and never questioning it.

Ace was grateful he had survived the disconnection from the power core, and that was enough for her, to know she still had him here at her side when the outcome could have been so different. The Tardis had been clever enough to limit the damage by wiping his memories, but leaving his memory of her, so at least he was still here, she had not lost him even though in many ways she felt she had lost much of the man he used to be, without his memories of his lives spent as a Time Lord... That part would always be missing, and without it, he was vulnerable, unaware of the truth of his identity, and she still didn't want to think too deeply about that and the dangers that still lurked out there in deepest space, because that was truly the stuff of nightmares, the thought that one day she could wake to the house being invaded by Cybermen or fired on by Daleks, or any of the other enemies he had fought over the centuries...

And Ed knew none of this. Nor did he know what the Tardis had just told her about time lines changing, he hadn't even noticed the Tardis wall spreading across the hallway like the ship was slowly making itself visible once more.

_And Ace had made a decision._

"Let's go away for a few days," she said.

Ed put down his tea and looked at her intently.

"I'm not sure we should do that. I can't explain it but I feel as if I belong here, Ace. And I feel especially sure of that when I'm in the maze. It's a magical place."

Ace smiled as she thought of the first time he had kissed her.

"You and me have memories of that place – do you recall any of it?"

He was still holding her hand.

"Not exactly but I feel that we fell in love because of it."

"We did," she replied, and felt instantly grateful to the Tardis for preserving what could be saved of his shattered memories.

Then Ed got up and pulled her to her feet as his eyes sparkled.

"Let's go there now! I can take you anywhere you want to go – it's like a time machine!"

And she froze for a second, and then laughed off his remark.

"I know what you mean. But I thought it might be nice if you and me got away from here for a while, just to do something different. We're not far from Perivale – we could get a nice hotel for the night..."

As she stepped closer she slid her arm around him, her other hand unbuttoning his waist coat and then his shirt, as she slid her hand inside and ran it over his chest she looked into his eyes.

"Let's go away, Ed. Let's get far away from here, just for a little while."

He held her in his arms, pulling her close as he kissed her.

"We could do that," he agreed, "But I'd rather stay here, Ace. I feel like I belong here, and so do you."

"One or two nights away won't hurt anyone," she told him softly, and then she kissed him again and he held her tighter, his kiss deepening as his desire took over and as he pulled away his pupils had darkened.

"Let's go to bed," he said as his gaze wandered down her body in a way that made her legs go weak.

"Okay, but promise me we'll talk about this later?"

Ace looked at him pleadingly.

He smiled and pulled her close and kissed her again.

"We will talk about it," he said, "Much later."

And then he took her by the hand and led her into the house and along the hallway and up the stairs, and as she followed him up to the bedroom, Ace looked back feeling a sense of dread as she counted the Tardis roundels..._still six._..

And then he led her into the bedroom and she fell back against soft sheets as he took her in his arms and kissed her again, this time with a passion that refused to be held back, and as he ran his hands over her body through the thin material of her dress she ached to be with him, and pushed aside all thoughts of the changing Tardis as he tugged down her zip and then slid her dress from her body.  
"Hurry up!" she whispered as she lay on her back watching him impatiently as he stripped off his shirt and then unbuckled his belt.

And then he was finally beside her, his skin warm against hers as she felt the beating of his twin hearts as her own pounded, and she clung to him, thinking only of the man she loved as she pushed thoughts of the threat of a changing time line far from her mind, at least for the time he held her.

* * *

Ace slept in her lover's arms until the skies grew dark and she was awoken by the crash of thunder. She opened her eyes to see the moonlight start to cloud over as another crash of thunder sounded overhead. Ace sat up, shivering as the chill of the night air hit her bare flesh, then she turned and looked down at her lover, but the Time Lord slept on, turning over and grabbing at the sheets as the chill filled the room.

Ace's gaze lingered on Ed as he lay there sleeping, oblivious to the thunder and the fork of lightning that streaked the sky as he lay in sheets still damp from their lovemaking.

She ran her hand over his hair and smiled down at him.

"You sleep," she whispered, "And tomorrow when you wake up, we're leaving for a while...you don't need the Tardis, I can keep you safe -"

She turned her head sharply and stared towards the open window as a sound carried on the strengthening wind; it was a sound that could be mistaken for no other – the sound of a Tardis landing...

Ace got out of bed and grabbed her dress, threw it on and tugged up the zip. As she put on her shoes a gust of wind caught the window and it bounced against the frame. Ace leaned out, grabbed the open window and pulled it shut, securing it quickly.

She looked back at Ed, but he was still sleeping.

Then she stood there in the darkness as the clouds covered the moon and rain began to fall as another crack of thunder sounded, as she looked past the garden and across the woods beyond a fork of lightning cracked the sky like a camera flash and she gave a gasp as she caught sight of a police box.

_"Professor?"_ she whispered, and then she turned from the window and quietly left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

* * *

As she made her way down the stairs she wondered, had the Professor some back? After three months of waiting she had guessed he had decided to leave them to get on with their lives, but perhaps she was wrong about that assumption...

_There was only one way to find out._

Ace grabbed her jacket, threw it on and went out into the garden. The rain was starting to fall heavier as thunder rumbled again, and she remembered that heading for trees in a thunderstorm was not a good idea, but as she opened the gate and hurried through the woods, only one thought ran through her mind:

_It was the Professor, it had to be!_

And with that thought in mind Ace ran through the rain as lightning flashed, heading for the blue box that stood in the heart of the forest...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Ace ran towards the closed Tardis door her heart was racing as she thought of the Professor. He had promised to return, and three long months had passed as Ace had wondered if he had decided to cut all ties with her, but she had always hoped he would turn up again one day, for the sake of their friendship.

_And he had to be back, because here was the Tardis._

_It had to be the Professor, either that or she was having a very vivid dream..._

Ace ran up to the door, pushed it open and went inside.

"Professor, it's so good to see you again -"

Ace stopped, her eyes growing wider as she took in the sight of the wide console room, the walls were a shade of turquoise and the ceiling was high above her. The console was vast and set in varnished wood.

_This was not the Professor's Tardis..._

"What is this place?" she said, and her own voice echoed back at her.

Then her gaze shifted back to the unfamiliar console as she stared at the controls.

"Hello?" she called out, "Is anyone here?"

"_Well this ship didn't fly by herself, although she could if she wanted to."_

Ace turned sharply to see a man standing in the entrance to the console room. Behind him a corridor stretched on endlessly, all doors leading off it looking identical.

"Let me see...which one are you?" then he snapped his fingers, "Oh yes, Dorothy McShane. Your name _is_ McShane?"

He was walking across the polished floor towards her.

Ace drew in a slow breath.

"Maybe. Depends who's asking."

And the man smiled.

"I'm the Doctor," he told her, "As I recall you knew me many lifetimes ago...Let me see...I had twelve regenerations and that was supposed to be the end, but after the long and difficult battle for Trenzalore the Time Lords granted me a new set of regenerations that lasted over a thousand years. Are you with me yet, McShane?"

Ace was still staring at him.

He took a step closer.

"I _am_ the the Doctor," he assured her.

And Ace looked at him intently:

_This was the Doctor in the far distant future?_

He bore no trace of the man she remembered as the Professor. This man was tall and lean with pale blue eyes and a shaven head, he was dressed in black from his silk shirt to his skin tight trousers and leather boots, and wore a heavy leopard print jacket with padded shoulders.

"I said," he repeated, "Are you with me yet, McShane?"

Ace finally found her voice once more.

"You're a future version of the Doctor?"

"In your time line, a far distant version. In mine, I'm simply the Doctor."

Ace breathed a relieved sigh.

As he took another step closer, and he joined her in the middle of the console room.

"So why are you here?"

He caught a flicker of suspicion remaining in her eyes.

"I'll cut to the chase and put you out of your misery. My virgin wife Barbara -"

"_Barbara's alive?"_

As the words flew out of her mouth she fell abruptly silent, knowing at once she had said too much.

"For now, yes. I learned of her death through a trip into the distant future, where I heard the tale of my final lifetime, the one that follows this...I heard of the legend of a mortally wounded Time Lord who slept for a hundred years in a damaged Tardis left to drift dreaming in space. I learned all about the battle for the Earth, the battle that saw his wife and his best friend killed. _My_ wife, and _my _best friend. He simply inherited them through _my _regeneration!"

"But that's already happened here," Ace told him, "It's over now. We got him back, the Tardis saved his life but his memory was destroyed in the process. He's in his last life and he knows nothing of the past. And _you_ have to leave -"

"Leave?" he exclaimed, "But I've only just arrived, McShane. And I have no intention of leaving until I collect what I came here for."

"What did you come here for?" she demanded.

"The crystals," he told her, "It was my intention to obtain Kashorine power crystals to increase the power to the core of the Tardis, but then I learned that I was to meet my death before it could be achieved. There's a lot be said for looking into the future – I also know my regenerated self known as Ed went on to collect the crystals, but then he fought in a war, was badly wounded and placed himself in stasis in the power core, where he stayed for a century, while the Tardis went drifting and dreaming and turned my time machine into a toy filled with mazes and games! Obviously this is _not _how I would like to see my final lifetime spent. _This is my only chance to change the future._"

Ace felt a chill shoot through her blood.

"You want to change everything?"

Determination was set in his eyes now.

"I _will _have those crystals," he said darkly.

Fear gripped her as she thought of Ed, still fast asleep and oblivious to the danger he now faced.

"You can't do this to him, it's not fair!" she exclaimed, "Why can't you leave us alone? He remembers nothing of the past!"

"And his battle to save the Earth was not his first encounter with the hostile nations of Catania and Seyarus! My virgin wife has been abducted by Catanian forces in retaliation for my efforts to put a stop to the war – she's trapped on the abandoned mining planet of Esskion-3 and she will not survive much longer! I need the power core to be stronger to break through the atmosphere of the planet, its breaking up. She doesn't have much time!"

Ace looked at him in confusion as she wondered if now was the right time to pick up on something so trivial when he was clearly concerned with a life or death matter.

"Why do you call her your _virgin_ wife? Surely no one needs to know that... not that I'm asking why your wife's a...Oh, forget I said anything... Sorry."

But he looked at her intently and answered her question without hesitation.

"Barbara is her Earth name. Her true name would be too difficult for humanoids to comprehend. She's from the planet Zelara, and she comes from a long line of high priestesses of the Zelaran temple. Her culture forbids intercourse for the first year of marriage. So her title is virgin wife, it is her culture to carry that title."

Ace looked at him in surprise.

"A year? That's a long time to wait."

"That year is almost up."

Ace resisted the urge to remark that she wasn't surprised he was so desperate to rescue her, but the seriousness of the situation killed the urge to say it. She saw desperation in his eyes as he looked at her.

"If I take the crystals now I can save her and change the future for all of us!"

Her jaw dropped for a moment and then she shook her head.

"No, no you're _not _messing with our lives! I don't know how you die and regenerate but I do know it's already happened, just like Jayden and Barbara died in the battle to save Earth, it can't be changed now, you can't do this, you'll wipe out the time line!"

"Of course I will, I have learned that some time soon I will meet my own demise and regenerate – circumstances unknown, but now I can avoid it altogether!"

Ace was still staring at Ed's former self.

"You want to change everything? I won't let you change me and Ed, even the Tardis wants us to be together! When his memories got wiped out, the Tardis made sure he still remembered me!"

He shook his head and gave a sigh.

"You are so naive, McShane. The Tardis is loyal to the_ Doctor. _He suffered massive damage to his memory when he was removed from the power core – of _course_ the Tardis made sure you're still around, she needs someone to take care of him!"

Ace felt her anger rising as she glared at him.

"I'm not being used for convenience, the Tardis _knows _I love him!"

"Think what you like," he replied dismissively, "But I know better. And Ed was a fool to risk everything to save Earth. If it was me, I wouldn't have risked everything to save your world, not when my final lifetime was at stake, and I certainly wouldn't have risked the lives of those close to me, either. I'd rather take my chances another way – go forward in time, change everything and rewrite my own future. That's why I'm known as Reckless Rick – I'm the Doctor who does exactly what he wants to do, and everyone else be damned!"

Ace looked at him in disgust.

"The Professor _never_ would have made such a choice! How did you become so selfish?"

"My virgin wife is trapped!" he told her sharply, "And the power crystals can grant more power to the Tardis and ensure her rescue – and perhaps along the way I can also avoid my own demise. If that happens, there will be no Doctor Ed fighting to save the planet from destruction and Barbara and Jayden will both survive! One day, eventually, when this life is spent, I will regenerate and become Ed, but _eventually,_ McShane...not yet."

Ace blinked away tears as she glared at the Doctor in the leopard print jacket who called himself Rick.

"Ed would have given his last life to save Earth! And he almost did, and he lost everyone he loved in that battle! He lived for a hundred years locked in the power core, when I met him he was living through his hologram form but he was very much the Doctor in every way, I know much of that has been lost because of his memory damage but it _doesn't_ change what he did! He sacrificed everything to save my planet, he's a brave man, he's been through so much – I can't let you tell him about the past, not now, he's suffered enough!"

Defiance burned in Rick's eyes.

"_You can't stop me!"_

"I won't let you hurt him or do anything to change our lives!"

Rick turned to the console and hit a series of buttons and threw a lever.

"Too late McShane," he said, and as a wheeze and a groan filled the air Ace gave a gasp, realising the Tardis had now taken off, taking her with it...

* * *

"Where are you taking me?" she demanded.

Rick gave a weary sigh as the Tardis landed once more.

"Home. I simply moved my Tardis to your house – or should I say, _your Tardis_ -as I need to speak with Ed before I take this matter further."

"_So are we getting these crystals, or what? Because I don't think your virgin wife can can last much longer on that planet, Doc – volcanoes are erupting, quakes are happening too...Maybe she's already -"_

"SHE IS NOT DEAD!" Rick yelled.

And Ace drew in a sharp breath, staring at the man in the Edwardian style suit with fair hair combed back and a metal eye patch over his left eye, who had just entered the console room. She knew him from the time she had accessed old Tardis diary entries...

"Jayden?" she said in surprise.

He looked at her.

"Yeah, that's right. Jayden Drake, friend and companion of the Doctor, nice to meet you miss -"

"McShane," she replied, "But most people call me Ace."

And Jayden looked at her intently.

"Why are you staring at me like you've just seen a ghost?"

That was when she realised, he had no clue of his own demise in the future, the Doctor who called himself Rick had not disclosed that information yet, and perhaps hoped he would never have to... but it still felt odd, seeing this face from the past, long since dead in Ed's time line, yet here he was, with Ed's former regeneration, alive and well, back from the days before Rick regenerated...

And Rick shot her a look and Ace knew at once her assumption was right – Jayden knew nothing of the future...

"I heard of you through Tardis flight records," she said to him, "The Doctor had a wife called Barbara and a companion called Jayden – this was a long time ago, of course..."

"What flight records?" Jayden exclaimed.

Ace shook her head.

"It hasn't happened yet. These records were old, from a long time after your Doctor regenerates."

And Jayden smiled.

"Yeah...regeneration – he heard something about his impending demise a while back and he's trying to stop it from happening. So, apart from the Doc, what else do you know? Did you find out anything interesting about my future?"

As Ace looked at him the words _You don't have a future because you die_ ran through her mind and she felt sick.

"I can't remember much. And I don't want to be having this conversation."

Then she turned back to Rick.

"_I really think you should leave!"_

"And I told you, I've only just arrived!" he said again, and then he headed for the door, pausing to turn back to Jayden.

"Stay here, keep an eye on the monitor, if there's any change in the stability of Esskion-3 I want you to let me know about it right away."

Jayden went over to the console.

"What ever you say," he replied with more than a hint of sarcasm, "You go off and explore the future, Doc. Leave me here. That's why I joined the Tardis crew, to be stuck in the ship, staring at a console screen...it's the highlight of my life!"

And Rick smiled at his friend, but that smile faded as he turned back to Ace and saw hostility in her eyes.

"I won't let you remind Ed of the past!" she said defensively, "He's forgotten everything, all the pain and the loss going back centuries. You've got no right to remind him of any of it!"

"I just want my crystals," he said, "And then I'll be on my way."

"The Tardis won't let you have them!"

"_We'll see about that."_

Rick walked out of the Tardis and Ace followed, determined to find a way to make him listen.

* * *

As she stepped outside, Ace blinked, startled by the fact that the rain was gone, the skies were clear and the damp garden was starting to dry out. They were on the patio by the back door and the morning sun rise was bright and warm.

"I shifted the Tardis over to the house _and _went ahead a few hours. Good morning, McShane."

Ace stared at at him for a moment, and then she drew in a shocked breath, pulling open the back door and hurrying inside.

It was morning, Ed would have woken up and found her missing, he would already be up and dressed and probably searching for her...

As she reached the door to the hallway she looked back.

Rick had entered the house, closed the door behind him and was now walking over to join her in the hallway.

"Get out!" she said sharply, "He can't find you here!"

"What if I told you I could help him get his memories back, restore everything he lost when he was disconnected from the power core?"

Her eyes widened.

"No, you're not doing that either! It could be dangerous!"

"Ace?" Ed called out, "Who are you talking to?"

"No one!" she called back, feeling a flicker of panic as she heard him make his way down the stairs.

Ace turned back to Rick.

"Get out now, I want you out of this house -"

"What's going on? And who are you?"

"Oh no!"

Ace turned towards the door. Ed was standing there looking bewildered at the sight of her quarrelling with a stranger.

"Ace?"

She drew in a deep breath.

"This is..."

"I'm the Doctor," said the man in the leopard print jacket, and her walked over to Ed and held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you at last. I've been hearing about you all over the galaxy...I said, nice to meet you...how much of your memory is gone, did you forget your manners as well as your past lives?"

Ed stared at him."My past _what?_"

"Nice to meet you," Rick said again, and Ed briefly shook his hand and then let go.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I told you, I'm the Doctor. But in this regeneration I'm also known as Rick. The reckless one, according to some of my friends – _and _my enemies too. I'm your former life. You was me before I regenerated, which by the way, I'm trying to prevent along with a few other disasters...thank goodness for time travel, or I wouldn't have looked ahead and seen all this coming!"

Ed was still staring at him.

"_Time travel?"_

"Yes, in my Tardis."

"What's a Tardis?"

"That's enough!" Ace said sharply, "Stop it now, he doesn't remember!"

And as Ed looked at her, something in his damaged memory had fallen into place, enough for what she had just said to make sense:

_There was truth in all he had heard, he was sure of it even though he couldn't put the pieces together..._

Ed stepped closer to Ace, partly turning away from Rick as he lowered his voice.

"Something is making sense and I'm not sure what it is but if you know something, _please_ tell me, Ace."

And Ace looked into the eyes of the man she loved and felt a rising sense of dread.

"I can't!"

"Yes you can, just tell me the truth."

She looked back at his former self, who smiled and she wasn't sure if he was smiling out of reassurance or if he was simply being smug about having control over the situation.

"_Tell him, McShane. Or I will."_

"He's you," she said to Ed, "Before you regenerated, you was him. You're a Time Lord."

He looked at her blankly.

"What's a Time Lord?"

Ace glanced again at the man in the leopard print jacket as anger flickered in her eyes. Yes, he definitely _was_ feeling smug about having the upper hand...

"Ace," Ed said again, "What's a Time Lord?"

And she gave a sigh of despair.

"_He_ shouldn't be here, he's you before you regenerated, he's come back to change everything – even our lives!"

Rick fixed her with a darkened gaze.

"I don't have time to waste on this useless attempt to protect him from the truth, Ace! Barbara is in danger and I need those crystals!"

Despite failing to put the pieces together in his mind, those words seemed to ring true in a way that Ed couldn't fully understand.

"Barbara?" he said, "She's the voice of the computer system in the maze. She's an electronic voice, part of a program...how did that program get there?"

"You installed it," Ace said quietly, "A very long time ago...more than a century ago."

Ed looked at her and said nothing for a moment as he tried - and failed - to recall installing the program.

"I don't remember," he said to Rick, "I don't remember anything...I can't think past the last three months, its blank."

"And it needs to stay that way!" Ace told him as she grabbed at the sleeve of his shirt and tugged on it, making him turn away from Rick, "Please listen to me, it's better if you don't know any of this! You're in your final regeneration. You can't go back to being the Doctor, it's too dangerous!"

As Ed struggled to remember, she saw pain in his sky blue eyes.

"Ace," he said pleadingly, "If you love me, if you really love me as much as you say you do, tell me the truth. I know part of me is missing, but I don't know what it is and I need to find it again!"

Ace glanced at Rick and then looked back at Ed, not bothering to lower her voice as she spoke her mind.

"I don't trust him!"

And the Doctor in the Leopard print jacket rolled his eyes.

"I think we've established that already, McShane!"

"But if he's me, he wouldn't be coming back here to harm a future version of himself. Think about it!" Ed told her.

"I am," Ace replied, "And I know he's a chancer and I know he's selfish and he doesn't care what happens to the time line!"

"Everything he said makes sense in a way I can't explain. I think I should trust him."

"Don't do this, Ed -"

If he had heard her, he didn't bother to look back as he turned to his former regeneration, and Ace felt hopeless as it began to dawn on her there was nothing she could do to stop him now because his mind was made up, he wanted to know the truth.

"Can you prove any of this?"

Rick smiled.

"Let me show you my Tardis."

And he led him back down the hallway towards the garden, and Ace followed feeling a rising sense of dread as she knew for sure there was no way to stop him from finding out the truth now...

* * *

As they approached the blue box, Ed paused, staring at it as the sight of it seemed to stir memories that were just out of reach.

Ace gripped his hand tightly as he continued to look intently at the Tardis.

"You don't have to do this," she whispered, "You can just turn around and go back into the house with me and -"

"And what?" he demanded, "pretend this never happened? I know there's more, this makes sense in a way I can't define, I know he's telling the truth and so do you! I have a right to know about my own past."

And Rick went inside the Tardis and Ed let go of her hand and followed.

Ace stood outside for a moment, looked skywards in despair as she silently wished the Professor would return, because she was sure the Professor would know what to do, and she had never needed his help as much as she did now – _but the Professor was not here... _Ace turned her gaze from the skies as sadness clouded her eyes and with a heavy sigh, she opened the door and went into the Tardis.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As Ace entered the Tardis she cast a glance around again, and for the second time saw nothing familiar about Rick's Tardis, nothing here remotely resembled the white interior of old that the Professor had called home...

This place looked cold with its unearthly turquoise glow, only the familiar low hum that filled the vast console room confirmed this was indeed another version of the Tardis...

"This," Rick said as he stood in the middle of the console room, "Is my Tardis – not as you recall it, but we always redecorate after regeneration...What do you think of it?"

But Ed gave no answer as he stood beside the console looking intently at the controls.

"I feel as if this ought to make sense," he said after a long pause.

"But it doesn't, because you can't remember," Ace told him, "Your memory was wiped after you were separated from the power core."

He looked at Ace and struggled to remember all she had told him.

"I was trapped in this power core -"

"No, you _chose_ to enter it, because it was the only way to keep you alive after you got wounded saving the Earth."

"I saved the Earth? That was rather brave of me!" And then his smile faded, "Shame I can't remember any of it, I'm starting to think I must have been quite a hero back in my Time Lord days."

"And you're still a Time Lord," Ace reminded him, "But after the battle, after your companions died and you were left wounded, you entered the power core and the Tardis kept you alive. You were there for a century. And now you know, you know what you came here to find out, so let's go home now!"

And she held out her hand, but Ed ignored the gesture and turned back to Rick.

"You're right, I need to know everything."

"Of course you do," Rick agreed.

"No, you don't!" Ace said as her voice rose in panic.

"Yes I do. This is about my life, _not _yours!"

Ace blinked away tears.

"And what about us, and what we have together? Don't you know that could all change if you let him mess about with the time line?"

Ed gave a sigh.

"This is about me, _my_ past, and I have a right to know. Please remember that, Ace."

And she fell silent, looking on with a rising sense of dread as she knew for sure the situation was now completely out of her hands – she could no longer influence him, because his mind was made up...

For a moment the Tardis interior was silent save for the low hum of the living machine as if the ship was listening carefully as the two Doctors stood in the eerie turquoise glow and faced one another.

"So why did you come back here?" Ed asked him, "To change the future? Does that mean you won't regenerate and I'll never exist?"

"No," replied Rick,"You will exist one day, when my lifetime is over, you are my final regeneration – but it will happen much later."

"And we will never meet!" Ace said.

Ed glanced at her. She was standing at the back of the room, away from both of them, watching the scene unfold with a worried look in her eyes.

"I don't think it will stop us meeting," he told her, "I'm going to be very careful about what changes, it's my time line too."

Ace briefly smiled.

"That's a bit better, you sound more like a Time Lord now!"

"I still don't know exactly what that means," he replied, and he turned away from her again, looking into the eyes of the man in the leopard print coat, his own former self.

"I want the power crystals," Rick said to him, "They mean nothing to you now – they're harmless toys you keep in the maze. And that's something else I wanted to talk to you about – that maze, full of amusements... Do you recall how it came about?"

Ed thought back but found no recollection.

"I think the Tardis created it for him, back in the days when he was a hologram," Ace said, "To keep him busy while he was locked in the power core."

And Rick laughed as he shook his head.

"Oh McShane, your thinking is _so _simplistic! Of course the Tardis created the maze for his amusement – but _I_ created the blue print before I regenerated and became him, and my idea for a maze had reasons much darker than you can ever imagine."

Ace shivered as she met his gaze.

"Darker?"

"I drew up plans for a program for the Tardis to create worlds within worlds that invading enemies – should they enter the Tardis – would become trapped in. A maze where only I knew the exit. And the games rooms, they were traps, cells with self sealing doors that can only be opened if the prisoner solves a puzzle – but of course, the door would then lead on to another trap, another locked room."

"So why did the Tardis change the maze into something so harmless?" Ace asked .

Rick indicated to Ed.

"For him, the Tardis altered it to amuse her sleeping prince while he was trapped in the power core."

"And it was very nice of the Tardis to do that!" Ed said defensively.

"She did it to stop you going mad!" Rick told him sharply, "You would have lost your sanity trapped in the core, with your mind inside the power grid for a hundred years! It was a distraction, the old girl found my blue prints and used them to distract you, she turned them into a harmless toy!"

And then, as Jayden Drake walked into the console room, Rick glared at him.

"I told you to watch the monitor! Where have you been?"

"Tardis bathroom," he replied, "Sorry Doc but I had to go!"

And Ed stared at the man in the Edwardian suit who wore a metal eye patch.

"Do I know you?" he wondered.

Ace drew in a slow breath, looking away as she recalled how close they were yet to become, how Jayden would be Ed's best friend, before the battle for Earth that cost him everything...

"I don't think so," Jayden replied, "Have we met before?"

"Not exactly," Rick told him, "_He_ is _me_ after I regenerate. Except that I'm hoping that won't happen for a very long time once I take the power crystals."

"He needs them to give the Tardis extra power so he can rescue his virgin wife from a dying planet – and then he plans to change the future," Ace said, "If he changes his future he doesn't regenerate. Where does that leave you?"

And Ed fell silent while Jayden went back over to the console and kept his eyes fixed on the monitor, watching a faraway planet as he continued to listen to the conversation around him.

"Did you hear me, I said, where does that leave -"

"_Yes Ace I heard you!"_

As Ed turned towards her she saw a look of resignation about him – he knew he couldn't turn away from this now, and Ace wanted to run out of this strange Tardis and away from the whole situation, run and keep on running until she felt an echo of the Cheetah people stirring in her blood, run until she found the blue police box with the small white interior, the place she had once called home, a place where she felt safe where nothing could tear at her heart because the Professor would not allow that to happen.

_But the Professor was not here..._

"We can walk away from this," she said again.

"No, it's too late for that. I'm sorry Ace but I can't pretend I don't know the truth."

She looked down at the floor of the console room as tears stung her eyes. She had never been one to give up on anything, least of all on someone she loved – and she wasn't giving up now, but she knew there was nothing left to say that would change his mind.

"I just want the crystals," Rick said, "And then I'll be on my way."

Ed took a step closer.

"The crystals? I recall nothing of how I obtained them, but I know they belong in the maze. _You can't have them_."

Ace looked up, feeling a sudden surge of hope as she heard an echo of the kind of strength she would have expected from Ed back in the days when he still remembered he was the Doctor.

And the other Doctor in the leopard print coat looked at him for a moment and then shrugged.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but as you insist on being awkward about it I'll have to make a point to you.."

And he went over to the console, tapped in a numerical sequence on a keypad, watched as a small screen flickered and then scrolled with activated commands.

"What have you done?" Ed asked as suspicion crept into his voice.

Rick was still leaning on the console as he looked up.

"I've just tapped into your maze and made a few adjustments. In other words, I now hold all the aces."

And his gaze shifted to Ace and he smiled as her eyes widened.

"What are you talking about?" Ed demanded.

Rick stepped back from the console.

"I've just reconfigured the maze via my own Tardis blueprints. Your Tardis is the house and garden and maze all unfolded, but here the damage to the ship is yet to happen and my commands went into your database and rewrote the entire maze. I hold the keys now. If you want them back, give me the crystals. If we can reach a bargain I'm willing to give you something extra for free, too."

Ed laughed as he shook his head, and the the look in his eyes changed to a gaze of pure steel.

"I won't do a deal, I don't know what I was like as a Time Lord, but I get the feeling I would have given in to nothing and stood my ground! Cancel those commands and get out of here, leave me and Ace alone. The crystals are in the maze. If the Tardis set it all out, the Tardis owns them now. I don't remember anything of my life before but I do feel that is the likeliest scenario. _So I can't help you._"

"You have little choice in the matter. I have to change the future for both our sakes. If you could remember your past, you would agree with me."

"But my memories were destroyed."

Rick smiled as he held up a computer chip that glowed as it caught the eerie light.

"_What if you could get those memories back?"_

Ace drew in a shocked breath.

"No, you can't do that, you'll kill him, he can't remember it all again -"

"Tell me how I could do that," Ed said, and Ace looked on in horror, feeling powerless to stop a bad situation from becoming worse.

"The Tardis has a device called the Chameleon Arch," Rick explained, "It is capable of modifying the biology of one species, so the cells register as another. So I could hide my Time Lord identity for a certain amount of time whilst my consciousness, my Time Lord essence and memories, are contained separately within a pocket watch. And over the centuries I have used it, but as a cautious man I would never have allowed one set of memories to be stuffed into one watch. Therefore I made a copy of my memories, just in case the watch was damaged. I've transferred the copy into a device in the Tardis lab and modified it further, to ensure you get just enough back to remember who you are and some of your past. I can't hand it all back to you because the separation from the power core caused damage that can't be repaired – so I had to reduce it to an amount your damaged mind can accept. At least if you do this you'll be the Doctor again."

Ed stared at him.

"You can give me my memories back?"

"It won't be perfect but you will remember who you are."

He turned to Ace.

She blinked and a tear ran down her face.

"If you do this," she said, "You'll remember things you'll wish you never knew! I don't want you to go through that kind of pain!"

Ed went over to Ace and took hold of her hands, they stood together at the back of the console room as he looked into her eyes and spoke to her softly.

"I can't be afraid of my own memories no matter what I've been through," he told her, "I'm sorry Ace but I'm going to do this, and you can't talk me out of it."

She gave a quiet sob and he let go of her hands.

Ace looked up and glared at the man in the leopard print jacket who stood in the middle of the room looking on.

"_If you hurt him I'll kill you!"_

"That temper of yours, it never did get any better did it, McShane," he replied casually.

"I want my memory back," Ed said to him, "And then, maybe, we can talk about the power crystals."

And Jayden looked up from the console.

"At last," he murmured, "An end to the bickering... between you and yourself!" And then he turned his attention back to the monitor.

Ace blinked to clear her vision, then she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and saw Ed was following the other Doctor out of the console room, down the corridor, and she was gripped with a sudden fear that if she stayed behind, something terrible might happen to him.

"Wait!" she called, "I want to come with you!"

And she hurried from the console room to catch up with her Time Lord lover and his former self.

* * *

Ace caught up just in time to see them enter a doorway down the corridor, and she followed on quickly, aware that in this version of the Tardis all doors looked the same and it would be very easy to get lost...

She stepped into the room and looked around in surprise.

It was a vast laboratory, the room was white and the walls decorated with roundels like the Tardis of old she recalled with such fondness, and in the middle of the room was a second, smaller console that looked much like the controls in the main console room.

"I don't remember the Professor having a lab."

"He didn't," Rick said, "This is mine."

And then he gestured to a reclining chair at the back of the room.

"Take a seat, Doctor. I'll get this over with as soon as possible, I'm keen to be on my way."

Ed sat down, and Ace caught a startled look in his eyes as Rick hit a button and the chair unfolded, becoming a table.

"What are you doing?" Ed sounded suspicious as Rick wrapped soft restraints over his writs and secured him.

"The procedure might give you a bit of a jolt, I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

"Or maybe you do. Maybe you're planning to get rid of him so you can get your hands on the crystals!"

Rick looked up at Ace and laughed.

"McShane, your boyfriend is my future self. Give me one good reason why I would kill myself?"

And his question had her confused, but only for a moment.

"What would you care?" she asked him, "It wouldn't matter if you're planning on changing the time line!"

Ed gave a gasp as he raised his head and looked at Ace.

"I hadn't thought of that!"

"I can assure you both I have no plans to risk my own future regeneration – my very last regeneration – I am an impulsive man at times but I am not stupid. I wouldn't risk my own future!"

And Ed breathed out slowly, trying to push aside the panic that was threatening to over take him as he thought about how he had been tied down.

"I hope I can believe you," he said nervously, "I want to. After all, you're me, who can I trust if not myself?"

"I'm still not happy about this," Ace said in a low voice, and she went over to the table and stood beside it and looked down at Ed.

"You can still back out."

"No," he told her, "I've made my mind up now, lets just get on with it. I want my memories back."

Rick lowered some heavy computerised equipment and switched it on, then slid the chip into the machine and added a code sequence.

"I'll be right here, I won't leave you," Ace said, and she gave his hand a squeeze.

"You'd better not leave me!" Ed replied, "I don't know what this will feel like. Will this hurt much?"

The question had been directed at Rick, who had turned on a scanner and was looking at the image of the internal scarring caused by the separation from the power core.

"Oh I am sorry, Doctor. You certainly did have some damage done when the Tardis put your mind back... but I'm hoping the memories I slide back in will stimulate the buried ones that still exists amongst the damaged cells. You see, this memory chip only has MY memories of the past – yours are unknown to me, so I'm hoping when you've gained more of an insight to the past you may recall some memories of your own regeneration too."

"_Because you don't want to die and regenerate."_

Ace had spoken accusingly, and as Rick met her gaze he laughed nervously.

"No one wants to regenerate, McShane. It's not a nice experience to go through no matter how often a Time Lord has done it."

"But is this dangerous?" she demanded.

Rick ignored her and looked down at Ed.

"_Yes."_

"What?" Ace said in alarm.

Rick was still talking to Ed.

"Yes, in reply to your question, yes this _will_ hurt. Expect it to hurt a lot."

Ace was still clutching his hand.

"I won't let go," she promised him, "I'll be right here and -"

"You'd better let go, McShane. Unless you want to be hit by a power surge your human body can't handle."

"Let go," Ed said to her, and Ace let go of his hand and stepped back.

"But I'm not leaving the room," she promised him, "I'll stay right here, I promise."

Rick turned his attention back to the machine and made some final adjustments.

"Just look up at the screen, Doctor," he said.

Ed looked up at the machinery above him. A small panel illuminated purple and began to glow.

"Keep watching the light," he heard the other Doctor say, "Once it takes hold and the power gets flowing, you won't be able to look away...just don't fight it."

Ed drew in a slow breath as the glow of the machine seemed to tug at his mind. It was uncomfortable at first, but the pain was swiftly building.

"Don't fight it," he heard his former self say again.

_And suddenly the light seemed to take over, drawing him in as a glow exploded behind his eyes and images flashed through his mind, fractions of memories, none complete but they were rapid and seemed unending._

Ace looked on in alarm as his body tensed and sweat ran down his face. A light had shot from the machine, sending a burst of glowing power through his eyes as he struggled on the table and gave a cry of pain.

"Stop it!" Ace yelled, "You're killing him!"

"No I'm not!" Rick told her sharply, "This is Time Lord technology, far beyond your understanding!"

"I know you're hurting him!"

Ace lunged forward, made a grab at the Doctor's leopard print jacket, pushing him away from the machine.

They struggled and suddenly Ace gave a squeal as her wrist was caught in a grip far stronger than she expected and Rick had her arm pinned behind her back.

"Stupid girl!" he told her, turning her back and forcing her to watch as the machine continued to pulse, "It's almost over. If I break the contact before its ready, I _will _kill him!"

And then his grip relaxed on her wrist.

"Do you understand me?"

She nodded and he let her go.

The machines light was fading out now, and as the power cut off and the light vanished, Ed's body relaxed and he breathed heavily.

"Is he all right?" Ace sounded panicked as she ran over to the table.

"He will be fine," Rick promised her, "he just needs time to recover."

And she looked at him sharply as he activated a monitor and pressed some buttons.

"I'm only scanning the results!" he told her, "One of these days you''ll come to realise I'm _not _a bad guy, McShane!"

"I didn't say that. I mean, you're the Doctor. You're another version of him, you're just different to the Professor, and you're nothing like Ed...and you turned up asking for the crystals, what was I supposed to think?"

Then Ace looked down at Ed and her eyes filled with panic.

"Ed?" she shook him gently, and said his name again, but got no response.

"I can't wake him up!"

"Let me show you what I've done," Rick said, and gestured to the monitor.

"Pay attention, McShane, it may save you another unnecessary outburst of temper...you see the area next to the scarring? The illuminated part?"

Ace nodded.

"What does it mean?"

"It means I have successfully introduced basic memories into his brain, enough for him to recall who he is. And hopefully I've also unlocked some of his own past, too – although I can't calculate the success of that until he wakes up."

"How long will that take?" Ace said in a hushed voice.

She looked down at Ed, who was still unconscious, then she ran her hand over hair, it was damp with sweat but his breathing had now slowed to a steady rate.

Rick activated more controls on the machinery and then joined her, looking down at the unconscious Time Lord.

"I asked you a question," Ace repeated, "How long before he wakes up?"

Rick avoided her gaze, recalling Ace McShane as the only companion he had ever known who had the guts to take on a Dalek with a baseball bat. He silently hoped her bat and nitro nine had been left behind when his Seventh life had left her with Ed, because she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear...

"He will be absolutely fine once it wears off," he said dismissively, "I've activated the machine to keep him stable until he wakes. Now I think I'll go over to the lab console and play around with the reconfigured maze...would you like to watch?"

He had turned his back and walked away, leaving Ace standing beside the table as she looked down at Ed, who was showing no sign of waking.

Rick studied the controls and tapped in a sequence of numbers, then turned a dial.

"Any change to the stability of the planet?"

"None at all," Jayden replied, "That's why I thought I'd monitor it from here, plus I wanted to see what was going on with your memory procedure. What are you doing now, Doc?"

"I'm running a test program on the reconfigured maze – the power crystals ought to be capable of creating some three dimensional beings to tackle the traps..."

"What about our plan?" Jayden asked, "That planet won't stay stable forever."

"I know that." Rick replied, "I'm going to play back the simulation later – I think I should go back to the house and see if any of the crystals are located there – if not I'll shut down the maze simulation and and try and scan for the larger of the additional power sources -"

"Excuse me?"

Ace was still standing beside the table where Ed was deeply unconscious.

"Yes?" Rick replied, turning his head as he leaned on the console.

"You didn't answer me!" she said, "I wanted to know when he was going to wake up."

"And I told you," he replied, turning back to the screen, "When it wears off. He's had a massive shock today, not as severe as the disconnection from the power core, but still a shock. When he comes out of it he should be fine."

"Comes out of what?" she said in a hushed voice.

Rick gave a sigh and turned away from the console.

"It's nothing to worry about, he's just in a... _slight _coma, that's all."

Her jaw dropped as she stared at him.

"_A slight coma?"_

"I knew she wouldn't take it very well," he said to Jayden, who looked down at the screen even though there was no change in the stability of the distant planet, purely because he wanted to keep out of this potentially explosive situation.

Ace was blinking away tears.

"You've put him in a coma?"

"He's a Time Lord, McShane. It's not nearly as serious as it sounds."

Ace gave a sob as she leaned over Ed and tenderly kissed his cheek.

"I'll find a way to help," she said as more tears ran down her face, "It's going to be all right, I'll make sure of it, I love you."

Then she kissed him again, and turned away and hurried from the room.

"I wonder where she's going?" Jayden said, "Maybe you should go after her – she doesn't seem to understand about the coma."

Rick shrugged.

"Ace McShane is to me a distant memory from another life," he replied, "I'm sure Ed will catch up with her when he wakes. I'm going over to the house to see if there's any power crystals located there. Keep an eye on that planet, Jayden. And you might want to do it in the main console room – that monitor is much more powerful."

And then he turned away and left the room.

Jayden gave a sigh.

"What ever, Doc. I'm used to being stuck in the Tardis..."

And then he looked over at the other monitor on the secondary console, and watched as a Cyberman walked slowly down a steel corridor deep in the reconfigured maze.

He laughed and shook his head.

"I don't know how you did it Doc, but it looks real to me – I wouldn't want to get lost in there!"

And then he turned his attention back to the dying planet far away, watching for signs of failing stability.

* * *

Ace ran from the Tardis sobbing.

She had one thought in her mind as she ran:

_She had to get to the maze before Rick did, she needed to talk to Barbara, to find out where the power crystals were hidden..._

And as she ran towards the concealed entrance, she felt a sense of safety, knowing this was the place Ed loved so dearly, and she was sure she would take some comfort from being back there, because after all, there was nothing in the maze that could harm her, he had told her that enough times...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ace was breathless when she reached the old wall at the back of the garden.

She ran her hands over the brickwork until she found the hidden switch and then as the wall shifted and slid back, she ran down the stairway into the maze.

The door shut firmly behind her.

Ace stopped running, blinking in the gloom...

_The maze looked different?_

"No," she said aloud as she paused to catch her breath, "It's me, I'm upset, I'm just not thinking straight..."

And then as lights flickered she turned and ran up a corridor, then a stairway, turned a corner and came to a sharp stop, her heart hammering as she breathed heavily, looking left and right and then down the stairway:

This ought to be the Ocean Zone, down the stairway there should have been comfortable old sofas and portholes where beyond fish swam in dark water...

_But the Ocean Zone was gone._

_In its place steel walls and pillars shone metallic..._

"Where am I?" she said aloud, and then she turned back, ran down the corridor and hurried up the steps and back into the gloom as the lights flickered and she reached for the switch to release the door – and then she found the switch was gone.

"_What?"_ she said in disbelief, and then as barbed wire snaked left and right growing and spreading like steel ivy to block the exit she gave a gasp, staring at the twisted wires as they locked together, sealing her inside an altered maze...

* * *

"_Prisoner trapped in Industrial Zone," _said the voice of the Tardis.

And the voice echoed across the wide empty console room...

Jayden Drake had tired of standing over the console watching a planet on the monitor that showed no sign of change, and he had decided to go back to his room for ten minutes to slip out of his jacket and partly unbutton his shirt, then he stood in front of the mirror and ran a comb through his fair hair.

He paused to look again at the metal eye patch that covered an empty socket, a legacy from a battle long ago.

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the sexiest of them all?"

And then he shook his head.

"_The mirror laughed and said sod that – it's not you, you stupid tw-" _

"Doc, I thought you was going over to the house?"

"And I thought I told you to watch the monitor, not take time out to preen like a one eyed peacock in front of your looking glass, Mr Drake!"

Rick stood in the doorway looking at Jayden with a bemused sparkled in his eyes, but it soon faded as he explained.

"I went over to the house and scanned for power crystals but found nothing, no trace of a single crystal. Which leads me to believable they are all in the maze area – either that, or the Tardis has totally absorbed them – which leaves us with a huge problem."

Jayden frowned.

"But you're the Doctor. The Tardis would know that and let you have them back, surely?"

Rick shook his head.

"That Tardis belongs to Ed. She's been with him through the battle for Earth and the century that followed when she kept him in the power core, literally close to her heart. I can't see her handing over any kind of control to me."

"But she let you change the maze."

"Only because the original blue prints were written by me, before I regenerated."

"So you're saying we may not be able to get the crystals back?"

Rick shook his head.

"No, it's not an option to give up – if I do that, landing the Tardis on that dying planet could prove to be a suicide mission."

Jayden looked at him.

"So if we can't get the crystals, she's got no chance? We lose Barbara?"

Rick looked back at him in silence for a moment, and then he replied in a hushed voice.

"_No Jayden, " _he said, _"I'm going back for her no matter what."_

Jayden stared at him.

"You'll be killed!"

Rick gave a heavy sigh.

"I have to take the risk. I love her, and besides, I have never turned my back on a companion, I have always done all I can to save the life of anyone I care about."

And Jayden smiled as he looked at him fondly.

"And even those you don't know, Doc. You'd save anyone who needed saving, you're just made that way."

And Rick's eyes seemed to reflect eternity as he looked back at his closest friend.

"That's very true. And I would give my life to save Barbara."

"But hopefully you won't have to risk that," Jayden reminded him, "There's still time. We could find those crystals."

* * *

Ed woke to the low hum of the Tardis filling the room.

He drew in a slow breath as he recalled fragments of memory rushing through his mind. His head ached and he felt weak, then as he struggled to move he remembered his wrists were still locked in restraints.

And he also remembered something else:

_He was the Doctor._

_He had lived many lifetimes and had fragmented memories of all of them now..._

Ed gave up on the idea of opening his eyes as weakness washed over him again, and he took in another slow, deep breath as he hoped Rick could give him something for his headache...

Then he wondered, where was Rick?

All he could hear was the hum of the Tardis.

And then the sound cut out.

Ed listened, wondering if he was simply too weak after the reintroduction of the memories to yet pick up on the familiar sound, but as he continued to listen, it began to dawn on him that the Tardis had fallen silent.

_How could that be? The Tardis was never silent..._

He knew his exhaustion was causing him to drift, and he tried to fight it as he heard the sound of light footsteps crossing the floor of the lab.

He drew in a breath and tried to speak but he could not find the strength, nor could he yet open his eyes as he listened and the footsteps came closer.

A gentle hand swept over his hair, and then a kiss brushed his cheek.

"_That's right," _she said, _"You sleep, things will seem much easier when you're properly awake. So much has come back to you now, and I know how much it hurt because I felt your pain just like I felt it when you crawled into the power core wounded after the great battle. And I have never left you and never will. The other Doctor is searching for the crystals but he won't find them because I won't let him take them. Think about it – you now have memories of your own unlocked, Doctor... Remember why Rick died? Do you, do you recall what happened? If you do, don't tell him. It must come to pass, he can't fight it. And you have a bright and wonderful future ahead of you, Doctor Edward. Ace loves you. Love is precious, I should know that more than...never mind, that's not for now...Oh, she is a lucky girl, she really is, I've seen all your selves, all different, and must say, you saved the best until the very last, you truly did, my handsome, beautiful thief."_

And then she was gone and the hum returned to the room.

Ed lay there motionless as he thought hard, scratching about through reintroduced memories to find her name...

And then he recalled his Eleventh life so long ago, and the day the Tardis Matrix had become placed in the body of a woman...

The recollection was burning brightly now, he got it as sure as he recalled her faded, Victorian style dress and her wild dark hair and the gentle sound of her voice.

_Yes. It had been her. He wasn't sure how it was possible, but she had just shifted out of the Tardis and back into that female form..._

Ed opened his eyes.

She wasn't there now, because all he could hear was the hum of the Tardis. But seconds before, she had been standing beside him solid, living even though it seemed impossible.

He drew in a breath and found the strength to speak at last, whispering her name above the hum of the Tardis:

"_Idris?"_

But only hum of the Tardis replied as a constant reminder the vessel was indeed alive...

* * *

Moments later more footsteps sounded and Ed turned his head and looked towards the door as voices carried up the corridor:

"_We have to find the crystals, we don't need to worry about him, you said so, you said he was okay -"_

"_But I need to be sure, Jayden. He is me, after all!" _

And then the door opened and they entered the room.

"How are you feeling?" Rick asked as he walked over to the table.

"Very much like myself thank you! Now untie me!" he said sharply.

Rick obeyed, releasing the straps and then hitting a button that slowly raised the back of the table as it adjusted back into a seat once more.

"So much for gratitude," he remarked, "I gave your memories back and all you can do is snap at me for it! Thanks a lot, Doctor."

Ed leaned forward, rubbing at his wrists and then he glared at Rick.

"It makes no difference to me that my Tardis was damaged and so was I, nor does it matter I was trapped in the power core for a century! I am _still_ the Doctor and _you_ are my previous regeneration. The longer you stay here the more dangerous the situation becomes, I'm thinking about the welfare of the fabric of time. You and I are _far_ too closely linked for comfort, Doctor. Get back in your Tardis and out of my reality and go back to your own time and place. You can't change your future any more than I can alter my past!"

Rick looked at him in surprise.

"You certain sound more like a Time Lord now. Shame we can't find some common ground to agree upon."

And then Rick's companion spoke up.

"_Look, I'm just a friend of his, but he needs those crystals. Barbara's in danger, he has to go and save her before a planet burns up."_

Ed stared at the man in the Edwardian suit with the metal eye patch. Then he blinked several times as he recalled Jayden Drake, friend and companion of Rick, who he called Doc. After he regenerated, Jayden had continued to call him Doc and he had found it irritating, it had taken him weeks to get him out of the habit...but Jayden had become very close to him, and then Jayden had died in hail of enemy fire when the Tardis was under attack...

His twin hearts ached as he remembered the years of friendship they had shared after he regenerated, and now he was standing in the same room as a dear friend who had, in his time line, already been dead for a hundred years...

"Jayden," he said, and looked down at the console floor as he struggled to hide his emotion.

And Rick looked at him intently.

"I think we have common ground, Doctor. You clearly recall Jayden, you must recall Barbara -"

"_Of course I do!" _Ed shouted, as his eyes burned with tears of grief and anger as he recalled the pain of their loss.

And Jayden stared at him.

"I'm getting a rather uneasy feeling," he said, "Doc, why is he looking at me like he's seen a ghost? What happens to me?"

Rick ignored his question as he walked over to the reclining chair where Ed was still seated, clearly too weak to get up yet.

"You've regained some of your own memories? Recollections of a time past my lifetime? If you know how I die, you must tell me so I can rewrite history for both of us!"

Ed looked at him.

And the memories flashed through his mind at a sickening speed that he could barely keep up with:

_The journey to Esskion-3, landing in the hostile, unstable environment, he saw it all through Rick's eyes as he told Jayden to stay behind, and be ready to get them out the minute he came through the door with Barbara..._

_The ground shook as tremors passed through alien earth,splitting as quakes shook an abandoned mining town. _

_He followed a signal and found her, he found her alive and the sonic screwdriver cut through the lock on the door that held her trapped and then it happened, the invisible trip switch was triggered._

_A boom and a flash cut through his body and he woke to find Barbara shaking him, urging him to stand, she pulled him to his feet and he leaned against her._

_The journey back to the Tardis was a blur of pain._

_He staggered through the doors and saw blood on his torn leopard print jacket, Jayden shouted his name and he tasted blood in his mouth as he told him to get them out of there..._

_The Tardis shifted dimension, as it floated in space he slumped to the floor of the console room. He felt no pain as Barbara cradled him in her arms but he knew it was the end._

_Jayden fell to his knees beside him._

_Both of the people he loved were at his side as he slipped away. _

_And then Barbara ran sobbing from the room._

_Jayden had got up, staggering back as he stared down in alarm as flickers of fire crossed over Rick's face and hands, and then the fire consumed him, a fire of such brilliance it lit up the console room._

_And Jayden had stared down at the fading light as Rick's features changed and another man had taken his place, a tall and classically handsome man with dark hair and bright blue eyes._

_Ed had sat up, looked down at the blood stained leopard print jacket and swiftly stripped it off, then he had stood up and looked around at the eerie glow of the console room._

"_I need a new wardrobe," he had said, tossing the stained coat the floor, "And I definitely need to redecorate... I hate turquoise!"_

The memory was bright in his mind with nothing missing.

But Ed pushed those recollections aside as he sat there in the lab still weak from the memory transfer.

"Do you remember?" Rick asked him again.

And Ed slowly shook his head.

"I don't recall any of it," he replied, "I'm so very sorry but it's completely blank."

"Perhaps you will remember in time."

"Time," Ed remarked, "That's something we could discuss until infinity."

"I need those power crystals," Rick replied, "I need to boost my Tardis shields, I need to be sure I can land safely on the planet -"

"It won't make a difference," Ed told him, "We know Barbara lives, because she travelled on with me and Jayden after you regenerated."

The look in Rick's eyes hardened.

"So you do remember?"

"I only know what Ace learned from old flight records," Ed replied, "Ask Ace."

And as Rick and Jayden exchanged a glance, Ed felt suddenly concerned..._Where was Ace?_

"She said she wouldn't leave my side. Where did she go?"

"McShane misunderstood about the effect of the memory transfer. I told her it was only a slight coma, but she ran out of here crying -"

"_I have to find her!"_

Ed made a move to get up, and swiftly slumped back into the chair as the weakness caused by the memory transfer took over once more.

Rick placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You won't be going any where yet, Doctor. Stay here and rest, the effect will wear off quickly. I'm sure McShane will soon be back to see how you're doing."

And then Rick turned and walked away and Jayden followed him.

Ed gave a heavy sigh as he wished he could fight the exhaustion and go and find Ace.

Then his thoughts turned once more to the power crystals absorbed by the Tardis.

"_You can't have them," h_e murmured, _"Idris wont let you take them away..."_

And then he wondered why the Tardis was so determined to hold on to the additional power, but that thought slipped from his mind as he gave into exhaustion and leaned back against the chair and slipped into a much needed sleep.

* * *

Ace made her way slowly and carefully back down the corridor to a place where the lights were burning brightly. Then she stood at the bottom of a short corridor that led into a wide open area where stairways led into rooms beyond, but all the doors were closed.

The whole place was constructed of cold, metallic material, and it was a place she was certain she had never seen before.

_Had the Tardis made some changes, perhaps added some new zones?_

_But even if it had, this place was very different to the maze she had explored with Ed, this place seemed so much colder and darker..._

And the fact that she could no longer find the exit sent a chill through her blood. The maze had several exits, and she had known them all – and now it seemed those exits had simply vanished...

Ace looked left and right, wondering why she felt such an urge to check the coast was clear..._Clear of what? _The maze had always been such a safe place, but all of a sudden it didn't feel so safe any more...

She ran down a corridor, towards an area where the hallways forked left and right, wondering which way would lead to a more familiar part of the maze.

_And it turned a corner, tall and silver and carrying a heavy blaster._

Ace froze, taking in the sight of the armed Cyberman. It seemed no matter how hard she tried, air would not quite reach her lungs as the metal creature walked towards her with its weapon poised.

She thought of the Professor and again felt her separation from him painfully – he would have known what to do.

He would have said...

"_Run!"_ she exclaimed, and the weapon discharged and she ducked and rolled and scrambled to her feet as the blast punched a hole in a metal wall, the corridor was filled with smoke and wires hung out sparking madly as the giant silver creature advanced through the chaos, and Ace ran on, turning sharply into the next corridor.

* * *

Ed woke suddenly, thinking of Idris and how and why she had briefly returned, but as he opened his eyes and looked around the lab he saw no one and heard the usual hum of the living Tardis, and he wondered briefly if it had been nothing more than a dream.

_But he knew it had not been a dream, he was certain of it – she had been here at his side, Idris had spoken to him..._

He leaned heavily on the chair and stood up slowly. The headache was gone and the room swam for a brief moment and then the last of the dizziness faded away, and he took in a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts and decided on a course of action.

"First of all," he said, "Where are you, Ace?"

And then he left the lab and began to walk up the corridor that led to the main console room.

* * *

_Ace ran without looking back._

She ran breathlessly as lights flickered and the darkened end of the corridor loomed ever closer. Ace was aware she was running towards a tunnel plunged into pitch darkness, but reasoned anything had to be better than facing that Cyberman again.

As she ran she wondered if the Cyberman was part of an invasion force – had one of the Doctor's oldest enemies traced him here to earth and found a way to breach Tardis security and enter the complex via the maze? Perhaps the Cybermen were responsible for the alterations – or was it the result of some kind of security measure the Tardis had put in place to keep the enemy locked inside?

She knew nothing for sure, only that the maze was now becoming a less than welcoming place and she was in danger and also trapped here, in an altered place where threats seemed to lurk around every corner...

As Ace entered the darkened tunnel she heard the sound of running water.

"Not again!" she exclaimed, and took a deep breath and slipped into water that was shockingly cold.

She gave a gasp as the cold snatched her breath and then she started to swim, recalling this was the tunnel where the water used to be warm, and as lights flickered she caught sight of the old door set in the tunnel wall above the water line, the one that led to the room where the old flight records were kept.

That room would have been a good place to hide, but Ace wasn't seeking a hiding place, she wanted to go on, to find a familiar part of the maze, where perhaps she could access Barbara and see if the Tardis computer could do anything to help.

Ace swam on, then finally reached the end and grabbed at a ledge and pulled herself up, where she stood shivering as she pushed her wet hair off her face, still feeling the chill and the weight of the water as she looked ahead to a narrow corridor – she remembered this would lead to the Medieval zone, _if_ the zone was still there...

Moments later Ace reached the end of the tunnel and turned a corner and found herself standing at the entrance to the Medieval zone. The gate was up and she walked into the castle quietly, looking around and then breathing a relieved sigh as she realised nothing here seemed to be amiss.

"Barbara?" she said in a hushed voice,"Can you hear me? What's happened to the maze? And I need your help – the other Doctor wants the power crystals. Can he take them? What happens if he takes them, can he really do that?"

And she paused, waiting for an answer, but as the candle light flickered and creeping mist began to shift through the castle, she heard no reply but the howl of the wind outside.

Ace shivered, noticing the light mist was swiftly turning into a dense fog now...

"Barbara?" she said again, but the computer remained silent.

And then as a sound cut through the silence Ace caught her breath; something was sliding through the fog and as it drew closer its unmistakeable shape emerged and her eyes widened in horror.

The Dalek aimed its gun stick and screeched out a single command in a high pitched metallic voice:

"_EXTERMINAAAATE!"_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The fog rolled in as the Dalek advanced and as it screeched _Exterminate! _Ace ran blindly through the fog, her mind racing as she tried to remember her way through the zone...

_There was a Dalek in the Medieval Zone?_

_And a Cyberman in that other, unknown place with the steel walls?_

_What was going on?_

If the Professor was here, if only wishes came true, she would have yelled his name and he would have appeared out of the mist and held out his hand and they would have run back to the safety of the Tardis, where they would have figured out what to do next.

But the Professor had gone, left her with his final incarnation, left them both alone to get on with their lives.

_Had he known something like this would happen?_

No. Ace felt sure of it, even the Professor with his dark and secretive ways would not have failed to warn her about something like this happening...

She slowed her pace now the fog was behind her, and then she paused in a corridor that led to the Futuristic Zone to catch her breath. Nothing here seemed different, perhaps this part of the maze was safe...

Ace leaned against a wall and gave a heavy sigh as she looked left and right and spotted no sign of an exit. There had to be one somewhere, she just had to keep looking...

"Oh Professor, I wish you could help me!" she said as she stood there alone in the corridor and wondered which way to turn next.

"_Ace?"_

She turned sharply, her eyes wide as she wondered if this whole situation was no more than some kind of freaky dream:

_There he was._

_There was the Professor, he had hurried along the corridor and now he was right next to her, slightly breathless from the run, and here at her side just as she had wished him to be..._

"Ace, are you all right?" he asked her.

She stared at him:

_Panama hat, paisley tie, question mark jumper, he even had his umbrella in his hand. He was definitely the Professor, and definitely standing next to her, for real..._

Ace breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm just about getting through this, I'm coping so far but you'll never know how glad I am you showed up! How did you get here?"

"My Tardis, of course!"

And Ace briefly smiled, but then her smile faded.

"Something is really wrong here," she told him, "First this other Doctor shows up – Ed's former regeneration – asking for the power crystals. Ed said he couldn't have them, but then the other Doctor offered to help him get his memories back and I think it went wrong, I came down here to see if I could find some answers and the maze was all changed around and I saw monsters, Professor! I saw them here in the maze but the maze is nothing like it used to be, its turned into a horrible place!"

Then she drew in a shaken breath as she blinked back tears.

"Why is this happening, Professor?"

He looked into her eyes with sympathy.

"Ace," he said gently, "I came back because I knew something was wrong, I felt it across time and space and I had to be here for you. _I am so sorry but none of this is real. _"

"What?" she said as tears filled her eyes, "I don't understand, of course it's real, what are you trying to say?"

He shook his head and then looked into her eyes as he leaned on his umbrella.

"Ed's Tardis was battle damaged. She's been drifting and dreaming ever since. All she can do is dream and sometimes she has nightmares. And the other Doctor, he's just another one of her projections..."

Ace fought against the urge to give in to her emotions and weep as she looked back at him, not wanting to believe any of it – but she saw deep sincerity in his eyes.

"So the Cyberman and the Dalek and being trapped in here – none of that is real, okay, I get that part. But what about Ed? It was very real to me when the other Doctor transferred his memories back and Ed couldn't wake up again! He told me he was in a coma! How can that be a dream? I saw it happen!"

"Ace I wish I didn't have to tell you this, but he is a Time Lord in his final lifetime, and he's been through a lot. Too much...How long did you think he would last after his disconnection from the power core? He's dying. The coma is very real but the Tardis is trying to make all of this easier on you and him by making up this situation via the hologram programs."

Ace shook her head as tears filled her eyes.

"No, that can't be true! I don't want to believe it!"

The Professor leaned closer as he looked into her eyes kindly.

"But at least I'm here for you, Ace," he said, and she shifted back sharply.

"Professor, don't do that, I don't know what you've been eating but your breath stinks!"

"I wouldn't worry too much about that," he replied, "Now why don't you take my hand? I know a way out of here."

And Ace hesitated.

She had caught a flicker of something cold in his eyes where there was usually warmth and sparkle. There was something about him that just wasn't quite right, and she was sure it was nothing to do with her not wanting to believe all he had told her, he just didn't seem like the Professor she knew so well...

He was still holding out his hand.

"Come on, Ace," he said softly, "I'll lead you out of the maze. Take my hand. _Trust me_."

She continued to hesitate.

"So you just felt like something was wrong and you came here to help?"

"That's right, Ace."

"How did you know?"

"It was just a feeling. And I couldn't ignore it, I had to be sure you were safe."

Ace frowned as she studied his expression. He looked and sounded like the Professor, but it was nagging at the back of her mind that something wasn't quite right, and she still felt it...

"So you just felt I was in danger and came to find me?"

"That's right. Come on Ace, let's get out of here. Take my hand, I'll lead you through the maze and back to Ed."

But she was still thinking on all he had said, and doubt still nagged at her.

"So what about Jayden?" she asked him, "Jayden was here too..."

"Who's Jayden?" he asked her.

And that nagging doubt increased as she looked at the man who stood in front of her and wondered if he really was the Professor.

"What about Barbara?" she asked him, "Her voice, her personality in the voice of the Tardis computer, the program Ed wrote so the Tardis could speak to him?"

And the Professor looked at her blankly.

"Come on Ace," he said again, still extending his hand.

She felt a chill sweep through her bones, and knew the truth even though she didn't want to think about it, because it was too scary to think about, and just to be sure, she asked him another question:

"Do you remember that time you and me and your dear old friend the Master took a trip together round the twelve galaxies?"

And he smiled.

"I've no time to chat about old friends, Ace. We have to get out of here."

Ace shifted away from the wall, taking a cautious step backwards away from the imposter who was clearly not the Professor.

"You're not the Doctor!" she exclaimed, "And I don't believe anything you just said to me, it's all lies! Who are you really?"

And he stepped closer, his form shifting into that of a hideous alien species.

"You are correct," it said in a low voice, "I am a three dimensional hologram created by the alternate maze blue print and my true composition within the blue print is _Zygon_."

And its face contorted as it reached for her.

"I HAVE YOU NOW!" it roared, and Ace screamed and ran.

* * *

As she ran, Ace looked over her shoulder and saw the Zygon was in pursuit, and she turned a corner, hit a button and as a door slid back, she dashed inside.

And the door promptly slid shut and locked audibly.

Ace paused again to catch her breath.

"Oh great!" she said aloud, "Now I'm locked in a games room!"

And then she looked at the table in front of her filled with buttons that flashed white.

"What's this about?" she wondered, and then she spotted an illuminated panel that bore the message _Instructions._

She touched the panel, read the message and then read it again, to be sure she had read it right the first time:

"_Use the correct sequence to unlock the next game. You have three minutes before oxygen runs out?"_

Ace drew in a frightened breath and began to try and crack the code, and failed, and tried again, and all the while the clock on the wall was counting down the seconds...

* * *

Ed felt much stronger as he walked into the console room. All trace of weakness had left him now and the memories had slipped into place, he knew some were partly missing, only fragments of lifetimes remained inside his head, but before there had been nothing, and Rick's theory had proven right too – he had salvaged his memories of his own lifetime, too... There was no sense of surprise at the recollections he had gained, more a sense of peace at knowing that which had been absent was no longer missing, he knew who he was now, and that was all that mattered...

Ed looked to Rick and Jayden and felt guilty for holding back the truth – but Idris had asked him to remain silent, and he understood why because it made sense not to risk a change to the existing time line.

"_I told you I want you to leave!"_

His voice echoed across the vast room as he approached the console. Rick and Jayden looked up from a monitor.

"And I told you I can't leave until I have the power crystals. I can find no trace of them at the house, which leads me to believe they must be situated within the maze," Rick replied.

"My Tardis absorbed the largest of the crystals," Ed told him, "They belong to her now!"

And Rick briefly closed his eyes as he gave a sigh of despair.

"There must be some left within the maze. I'll shut down the program -"

"Program?" Ed repeated, "What program?"

Jayden spoke up, explaining everything:

"While you were getting over the memory transfer, the Doc decided to run the Hostile Threat scenario, so he altered the maze. We've just run through the data report...it's very impressive. We've managed to create a Cyberman, Dalek and a Zygon hologram, and they're all totally contained down there! And the maze has even invented a human female for them to pursue – she's locked in a games room now and if she doesn't solve the puzzle she's got three minutes till the air supply runs out!"

Ed looked sharply to Rick.

"Did you include a human female hologram in the blue prints?"

"I don't recall doing that..."

And then both men exchanged a horrified glance.

"What's wrong?" Jayden asked. Both Rick and Ed were working the console, trying to access the maze structure program.

"I said, what's wrong?" Jayden asked again, and both Doctors answered him at once.

"_Ace!"_ they said in unison.

Jayden stood back, keeping out of the way as both Doctors worked on opposite sides of the console. As Rick cancelled commands, Ed entered codes to reset the maze.

"I don't recall ever deciding to create a hostile maze," Ed said as he shot Rick a furious look.

"It was my idea," Rick replied, "As a defence for the Tardis. She must have changed it into a toy for _your_ benefit."

"Did you just insult me?"

A brief smile flickered about Rick's lips as he worked.

"I can assure you if I wanted to insult you sir, you would _know _about it."

"_Time?"_ Ed demanded angrily.

Rick checked the countdown.

"Thirty seconds to oxygen downtime."

Ed's fingers danced across a keypad rapidly as he altered more commands.

"Please be all right, Ace!" he whispered.

And then the screen illuminated with a message:

_Execute new codes?_

"Yes!" Ed snapped, and then he looked across the console.

"_Hurry up!"_

Rick was still working on the final commands.

"Patience, Doctor...almost there..."

"_Time?"_ Ed demanded again.

"Ten seconds," Rick replied.

"Ten seconds?"Ed exclaimed, "She's dying in there, hurry up, man!"

Rick completed the final code.

"Oxygen is draining..."

"And that's_ your _fault!" Ed said sharply.

Rick gave a sigh.

"McShane doesn't have enough time for us to quarrel...ready when you are, Doctor..."

And he reached for a key on his side of the console and Ed did the same on the other side.

"We turn the keys together," Rick reminded him, "After three, one, -"

"Three!" Ed said, and Rick hurriedly turned his key to keep up with Ed.

Lights blinked on the console.

"Come on!" Ed said impatiently.

And then the message flashed on the screen:

_Maze reconfigured. Oxygen levels normal._

Both Doctors breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Ed touched a screen and zoomed in on a locked door in the Futuristic Zone and read the data display on the monitor.

"Oxygen was out for fifteen seconds. She might feel dizzy or she could have passed out but the monitors show steady vital signs... she's okay."

"Congratulations, you handled that crisis like the Time Lord you are," Rick replied, and he smiled but Ed did not return the gesture.

"Spare me the flattery. It won't get you the power crystals. _If you really want them I suggest you ask Idris._ Now I'm off to fetch Ace, she's been through a terrible experience!"

And as Ed left the console room, Rick stood there for a moment thinking on what he had just said... the name was familiar, but from a lifetime spent so very long ago...

"Doc," said Jayden, "What's the matter?"

Rick shook his head.

"Quiet, I'm thinking...let me see... it was so long ago...she was..."

And then his eyes widened as the memory fell into place.

"_Idris?"_ he said in disbelief.

* * *

Ed ran to the wall at the back of the garden, hit the hidden switch and the door slid back.

He hurried inside and and dashed through the maze, taking a short cut to the Futuristic Zone. The maze was now as he recalled it with nothing out of place, with the program reset the place was just as it had always been. He ran up a flight of stairs and turned a corner, stopping breathlessly outside the room where Ace was trapped.

His hand shook as he reached for the keypad to release the lock, and instead he looked up and addressed the Tardis computer.

"Open the door, Barbara!" he called out, and the door slid open and Ace tumbled out unconscious.

Ed fell to his knees and cradled her in his arms.

"Ace!" he said as he ran his hand over her hair, "Wake up!" and he shook her gently and said her name again.

"Dorothy McShane is unharmed," said Barbara, and then Ace coughed and drew in a sharp breath and opened her eyes.

She looked up at Ed and then drew in another breath and sat up, recovering quickly.

"I thought I was going to suffocate in there – and there was this Zygon, but first it looked like the Professor...it told me _so_ many lies! And it said you was going to die!"

He looked into her tearful eyes and smiled kindly as he drew her into an embrace.

"And it was all a holographic illusion caused by Rick's hostile maze program. That's cancelled now. I'm so sorry, Ace – he didn't know you had entered the maze, he never would have made those changes if he thought anyone was in there! It's all right now, it's all been rewritten, the maze is restored to normal."

Ace was clinging to his as she replied.

"I cant believe any version of the Doctor would invent such a scary place!"

"Well travelling the universe can be a dangerous business. It was his original blue print for the place before he regenerated into me. Then when I was wounded in the great battle for Earth and entered the power core, the Tardis used the blue print to create a harmless version of the maze to keep me entertained. But the original plans had been for an elaborate trap for my enemies, a plan drawn up in my previous life, I recall everything now."

Ace started to smile as she drew back from his embrace.

"So it worked, then."

"What did?"

"The memory transfer, you're talking like a Time Lord again!"

And Ed smiled too as his eyes sparkled.

"Yes. It did! It's worked very well!"

And then he got up and took her by the hand and helped her to her feet.

"Come on," he said, "This isn't over yet. Rick still wants the crystals and the Tardis wont let him have them, I know because I saw her, I saw Idris – she is a human female form of the Tardis matrix – long story, but I didn't think she was capable of reappearing, but she is, and she's made it clear she won't part with those crystals."

They began to walk back through the maze towards the exit.

As they walked, a sudden thought occurred to Ace.

"But why?" she asked him, "Why won't the Tardis part with the power crystals? I mean, she needed the extra power when she was keeping you alive in the power core, but that's all over with now. Why would she need to hang on to the extra power?"

"Why indeed," Ed replied, "That is what I need to find out. I think the old girl is hiding something from us, but I'm not sure what it is yet."

And then they reached the exit, and this time no barbed wire barred the way out. The door slid back and they left the maze together.

* * *

As they stepped out into the sunshine Ace took a deep breath of warm, sweet air that carried the scent of the roses that grew at the back of the garden.

"You will never know what that place was like, how scary it was, it was like something out of a nightmare!"

Ed placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"I believe you! I'm just glad I was able to help Rick reverse the conversion and set the maze back the way it used to be! Are you sure you're okay?"

Ace nodded, and he leaned closer and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him returning his affection, feeling relieved that everything the shape shifting Zygon had said had been a lie. She couldn't even begin to imagine losing the Doctor, she wanted to spend forever with him, and she probably would because his final lifetime – if he kept clear of danger – could last well beyond her own human years...

She held him tighter as their kiss deepened.

And then a familiar voice broke the peace of the moment:

"Put that girl down and tell me what's going on!" Rick demanded angrily, "And what do you mean about Idris talking to you? How could that have happened?"

They both gave a sigh as they broke off from their embrace and turned to see Rick walking across the lawn to join them.

"I want answers, Doctor!" he said.

Ace remained silent as the two versions of the Doctor faced each other on the lawn and began a heated discussion.

"I don't know!" Ed said sharply, "She just appeared, while I was waking from the coma -"

"Oh, the coma... You were _dreaming_, you fool!"

Ed glared at him.

"How dare you insult me! If anybody is a fool around here, it's you. What sort of a Time Lord are you to run a program as dangerous as the Hostile Maze program without checking the place was empty first!"

"And that was an accident."

"_So apologise to Ace."_

And Ace gave a sigh.

"Really, it's okay – I got out, I'm okay, nothing happened to me, let's just forget about it."

"No," Ed replied, "I want him to apologise for his stupidity!"

Rick looked at Ace.

"Sorry about the error, McShane."

She nodded and then stepped back, leaving the two men to continue their heated discussion.

"I do _not _believe you saw Idris!" Rick told him, "You had just under gone the memory transfer, I'm not surprised you had a strange dream as you recovered from it. But she wasn't really there, that can't be possible."

Ed stared at him.

"Why not, why can her appearance not be possible? Do you really have such a closed mind after all the lifetimes we spent travelling time and space, you've come close to the end and you still think certain events can never be possible? Anything is possible, because possibility, when woven through time and space, is infinite!"

Ace was still watching the conversation unfold and now she was feeling increasingly happy to see Ed had certainly regained his Time Lord memories. She had missed that alien quality about him when the memories had been absent, quite simply, she had missed the Doctor...

"I did see her," Ed told him, "She kissed me, she touched me -"

"She did what?" Ace said as her voice hardened.

Ed glanced back at her.

"Long story – it's not how it sounds -"

"It had better not be!" she added, and then he turned back to face Rick.

"It was not a dream. She was real, she was solid, I know it was really her! The Tardis fell silent and then she was beside me, and then she was gone again."

"And she told you she wouldn't part with the power crystals?"

Ed hesitated.

"What did she say?" Rick demanded.

He drew in a slow breath.

"I don't remember. I just know she refused to part with the crystals."

Rick looked at Ace.

"How much do you know about this?"

"Me? I don't know anything about it!"

"I must have those crystals!" Rick said urgently, "I need to boost Tardis power so I can land on an unstable planet to rescue Barbara!"

Ace spoke up again as a sudden thought came to mind.

"But she does live – we know that through Tardis records, she travelled on with Ed and Jayden after you regenerate."

"But she won't survive if I don't rescue her from that planet!"

"The crystal would give the Tardis extra power for sure but it wouldn't prevent you from being exposed to danger once you stepped outside the ship," Ed reminded him, "And Idris has already absorbed the crystals. She won't give them back, perhaps they have become part of her now. I'm sorry but there is nothing more I can do."

Then Jayden ran out of Rick's Tardis.

"Doc!" he said urgently, "Esskion-3 is losing stability. There's no time left, we have to leave now!"

And Rick hesitated, looking to Jayden then back at Ed.

"Then I shall leave without the crystals," he said.

"You can't do that, you won't come back!" Jayden told him.

But suddenly there was a very different look in the eyes of the Time Lord known as Reckless Rick as he understood that time had come full circle and the very thing he was trying to prevent had to happen for the wheel to keep turning.

"Perhaps I won't be back," he replied, "But one of us will, the _Doctor _will survive."

And Ed nodded.

"Of course," he replied,"Every life ends one day, no Time Lord can escape regeneration."

Ace was confused as she stepped forward, looking into the eyes of the other Doctor.

"You mean you're going to die, and you know it, but you're going to go there and let it happen anyway?"

And Rick smiled sadly.

"Yes, Ace," he told her, "Because I'm the Doctor and I can't fight destiny, I thought I could, but the time is now and I only have one course of action to take."

And she stared at him for a moment.

"You just called me Ace. You always call me McShane, but just now, you called me Ace."

And Rick leaned closer and touched the tip of her nose in a way that reminded her of the Professor.

"You're with Ed now," he said, "My _final _regeneration. So forgive me if I don't call you Ace and stir up old memories of my Seventh life when Ace was a name that made my hearts race but I never had the courage to tell you. And I must leave now."

And he turned back to Ed.

"Goodbye, Doctor," he said, and then he walked over to his Tardis.

Jayden ran across the lawn to join him.

"You're not doing this alone, its too dangerous!"

"If you must come with me, I need some help to pilot the Tardis when we leave – but _stay _in the Tardis, understand?" Rick asked him.

Jayden nodded.

"Anything you say, Doc. I'm right behind you all the way."

"I know that," Rick replied, "I know you will never let me down."

And then the two men entered the police box and the door closed. Moments later there was a wheeze and whoosh and the ship faded in and out of sight, and then Rick's Tardis was gone, off to a time and place where destiny would be fulfilled...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ed and Ace turned back towards the house.

And then they both stopped, staring at the woman in the old fashioned, faded dress who had just walked on to the lawn.

"Who's that?" Ace said in a hushed voice.

"Idris," Ed replied.

"But how can she just appear like that?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to ask her!"

Ace watched as Idris walked over the lawn to join them. As she walked over, Ace studied her appearance, wondering how the Tardis matrix could look so completely human...

"He's gone," Ed told her.

Idris nodded.

"And he will fulfil destiny as it is supposed to be. He will save her but be caught by a booby trap explosive and regenerate – into you. And he knows it will happen."

For a moment, pain reflected in her dark eyes.

"I have cried for you with every regeneration, I have felt your pain..."

"And now that pain is over."

But a troubled look was still in her eyes. She looked to Ace, then back to Ed.

"_I remember after Rick regenerated, Barbara ran from the console room sobbing. She shut herself in her bedroom and refused to come out. And then you went to her door, Doctor. You told her, 'This is my Tardis and no door is locked to me, Barbara, and I am still your husband.' And I opened the door and you walked in and asked her to look at you. And she did. And you took her in your arms."_

And Ed smiled.

"And then she stopped being a virgin wife!"

Then he laughed, but saw Ace glaring at him and quickly lost the bemused expression.

"And that was a very long time ago," he added, "more than a century!"

"And _I_ don't need to hear about that part," Ace added, feeling a sting of jealousy that she couldn't explain over a woman who had been dead for a hundred years.

Idris looked at the Doctor and blinked away tears.

"I have always been honest with you but for one occasion. One occasion, my beautiful thief and now I must explain because you have already asked the question!"

And as she looked at him, Ed looked back at her in confusion.

"What question?"

"My reason for holding on to the power crystals! True, I no longer need them to sustain you in the power core, and you have no need of the holographic body now you are free, but I am not free, I must hold on to the additional power and the reason lies behind the door, the one locked door!"

Ed stared at her.

"What locked door?"

She hesitated, then looked at him apologetically.

"The door that has been locked for a hundred years. Now you are free, the power crystals and the imprint of my matrix can sustain the Tardis for you. And I can keep back enough of my own energy to recreate and maintain the female form I choose to wear indefinitely."

Ed was still staring at her.

"You're saying you can divide the matrix and leave as Idris? But why, where would you go?"

"You are in your final life. My imprint and the power crystals will be more than enough to maintain the Tardis in what ever form you chose to shape it, the maze too. But due to the battle damage space time flight could prove dangerous without me. And I need you to fly the Tardis one last time, Doctor... But first I have to explain..._the one locked door._.."

She hesitated again, blinking away tears.

"Idris?" he asked, "What's wrong? I don't understand about a locked door?"

Her eyes were misted with tears.

"Your fault," she said as her voice trembled, "You and your habit of bringing home strays...so many of them, all different, always a happy hello and a sad goodbye...I felt it too, I watched them all and shared their joys and sorrows... it would have been easier if you had travelled alone. Of course eventually one of them captured my heart, and I would watch him all the time."

She smiled briefly as she blinked away tears.

"He was so sweet and kind, he looked such a rough man but his heart was oh so gentle, his humour could touch any situation and shine bright light into darkness, and he would stand in front of the mirror, always preening, trying not be ugly...but he wasn't ugly! He was a beautiful living being, a human with more gentleness in his heart that he cared to show."

Ed looked at her in confusion.

"Who are you talking about?"

Her eyes glazed with tears again and she drew in a sharp breath as she recalled painful memories.

"The day the ship was attacked, the day the enemy fleet blew a hole in my side and only the secondary shield system saved you, he was there on the floor, bleeding into me! And I knew..." tears ran down her face as she continued: _"I knew I could not bear for Jayden Drake to stop being alive!"_

"Jayden? You fell in love with Jayden?" Ed's eyes widened as a chill passed through his blood. "I thought the body was lost when the shield malfunctioned...what have you done, Idris?"

Tears still reflected in her eyes.

"I gathered him up and placed him in stasis. He was still alive, barely alive. He is frozen in time. The power crystals have enabled me to keep him in stasis and function as Tardis and I even kept you alive in the power core for a century too! But now you are free, and your other self has left the time stream. Which leaves the locked door ready to be opened!"

And she looked at him pleadingly.

"He lives, he is held in stasis! If you can take him to a place where he can be repaired I can do the rest, I can restore him to full function once more! He is too weak now, but if we can repair him -"

"He's not a Tardis!" Ed said angrily, "He's a fragile human being and his injuries were terrible! Let him go, Idris._ Let him go_."

Her eyes widened.

"But then he will not be alive! I _must_ keep Jayden Drake alive!"

Ed gave a weary sigh and brought his hand to his face and briefly wiped away tears that stung at his eyes as he thought of his close friend, a century had passed by and he had believed him to be dead, and now to find out the truth was a shock... _Jayden was still alive, preserved after the explosion and hidden somewhere in the Tardis?_

"I grieved for him so long ago," he said, "I've already let him go...and now you're telling me he's not dead? He can't survive, Idris. I saw his injuries. The explosion tore him apart..."

"And I am holding him together," she said, "I've been holding him for a hundred years!"

And he saw desperation in her eyes as she looked to him, silently begging for help.

"You mean there's a body hidden in the Tardis?" Ace exclaimed, "And it's been there for a century?"

Ed kept his gaze fixed on Idris as he replied.

"No Ace, not a dead body. Idris is keeping him in stasis, much like she kept me in the power core, except that he is completely frozen in time, she did it to save him from death."

"That's why you wouldn't give up the power crystals?" Ace said.

Idris turned her head.

"I needed the additional power to maintain the ship and the power core and to keep Jayden in stasis."

Then Ed took hold of her hands and she looked into his eyes again.

"Idris," he said gently, "I saw Jayden's body. Even if we took him to a time and place where he could be saved the chances of that happening, even under the best of circumstances, are very slight. And if he did survive, he would be terribly maimed and I know he wouldn't want to live like that. I think you should take me to where you have placed his body and release him from stasis."

She pulled her hands free of his grip as she stared at him.

"And then Jayden would not be alive! He would die and I do not want him to stop being alive, alive is such a wonderful state of being!"

Ed drew in a slow breath as he gathered his thoughts. The sensible thing to do, would be to have Idris release Jayden from stasis immediately and let nature take its course – something that wouldn't take long, considering the last time he had seen him, Jayden was a bloody mess with his guts trailing red on the floor, there had been a huge hole in his side and his right arm had been almost severed. It had been clear he stood no chance...

But knowing the truth about Idris preserving him had sparked up emotions that had long laid buried through grief, and he knew when he saw Jayden again, letting go would be far more difficult than he cared to admit. The pain of his loss felt fresh all over again – how could he bear to let him go a second time? It seemed impossible, yet the only logical course of action.

"You must let him go," he told her again, "We can both stay with him until the end, he won't die alone."

And she drew in a short, sharp breath and stifled a sob.

"No," she said softly, "There must be more we can do...I have carried you around for centuries, put up with every aspect of all your lives, even the less than perfect ones! I have sheltered you and your companions and I stayed to protect you when you had no lives left to lose and I sang you to sleep for a hundred years! Now, one favour for me! Please..."

He shook his head.

"I can't let him suffer, Idris, it's not right -"

"But we can save him! I can manage a flight into the distant future, we can take him to a cybernetics centre and they can repair him and then, when he's strong enough, my inner power shall be enough to hold his life together!"

Ed looked at her intently. The Tardis was old and wise but he also knew there was no fool like an old one when it came to love...

"Are you certain you can save him?"

"As long as he is not weak. He needs to be strong enough to take a small amount of energy from me."

"And how long can you keep him alive? He couldn't handle more than a fraction of your energy."

She smiled as hope shone in her tearful eyes.

"_Forever," _she told him, _"I want Jayden Drake to live forever."_

"Of course you do," Ace said, "You love him. Everyone wants the person they love to live forever."

Idris smiled again.

"And I can really make that happen! I can sustain his fragile life, I can make him keep on living, so we never part!"

"And that might not be a good idea," Ed told her, "Your power is immense but as sure as you are of your love for him, what makes you think he would definitely return your feelings?"

She smiled.

"I have taken him in my arms many times, before the great battle. I came to him at night, I made love to him."

Ed stared at her.

"You had _sex_ with one of my companions?"

Idris laughed softly.

"He liked it!" she said excitedly, "But I didn't tell him what I really was. I said I was a time travelling being... I told him to keep us a secret. He wanted me to meet you! I kept making excuses."

"Did he say he loved you?" Ace asked her.

And Idris nodded, blinking to fight off more tears.

"Many times. And when I couldn't be with him I used to silently watch him, I was never far from his side but he never knew, he had no idea that I was the Tardis matrix."

"I totally understand that you love him," Ace said, "We both do, don't we, Ed?"

He glanced at Ace.

"What did you say?"

"I said, we totally understand -"

"No," I'm not sure that I do, I've just found out my Tardis has been having sex with one of my companions, it's quite a shock because this is the first I've heard about it!"

"She loves him," Ace said, "It's simple enough to understand!"

And she turned to Idris.

"You kept the Doctor alive for a hundred years. You sang him to sleep and you made the maze and gave him a hologram, you kept him alive until I came along to rescue him! And I am so grateful you did that, because he wouldn't be here today if you hadn't helped him. So yes, I understand why you're holding on to Jayden. And we _will_ help you -"

"Oh no, don't make promises like that," Ed said to her, "We have to let him go, Ace."

"But we ought to try, if we can, if there's a chance -"

"_Please?"_

He looked back at Idris, who looked at him pleadingly.

"Please my beautiful thief, please help me. I've always been there for you. Now it's your turn. Just this once, something for me?"

Ed gave a heavy sigh.

"I can't promise you anything," he said, "But take me to him. Show me this locked door you've been hiding from me."

* * *

As the Doctor walked towards the house with Idris, Ace followed.

As they went inside and through to the hallway she realised Idris was leading him to the body :

_It had been in the house?_

_Where in the house, downstairs, or in the attic or..._

She shivered.

_Not the bedroom, not under the floorboards or in the wall or -_

"It's here," Idris said, and she ran her hand over the wall where the Tardis roundels had doubled.

"Oh, right here," Ace said nervously, "Just a short distance from the kitchen...nice..."

As the outline of a door way illuminated, the wall shifted and the light faded rapidly, and Ace stared at the sight of a closed door where before had been just a wall.

"It's not locked any more," Idris said quietly.

Ace took in a deep breath.

"I'm not going first."

"I will," Ed told her, and he placed his hand against the door and it swung open.

As Ed walked into the room, Idris followed.

Ace hesitated for a moment and then she walked through the doorway.

She saw the white walls of a Tardis room, and there, on the floor, held in a bubble of pure energy, was Jayden Drake – _or what was left of him..._

As her stomach turned over she gave a gasp.

"_I need to get out!" _she said, as her hand flew to her mouth, then she ran from the room and across the hallway and out the back door, where she leaned against the wall taking in fresh air and trying to banish a sight from her mind that she had never wanted to see, but the image stayed fresh and vivid in her mind, Jayden Drake mutilated by the explosion a hundred years before, his insides bloody and gleaming under the harsh light, the blood still crimson and shining fresh...

* * *

After Ace ran from the room, Idris turned her head with a worried look in her eyes.

"I didn't mean to make her feel unwell."

Ed was still looking at the body of his best friend.

"I'm not surprised she reacted the way she did. Look at him, Idris. If you release him from stasis he won't survive very long. Probably not long enough to be removed from this room, his chances of survival are very very low. And you've kept him in stasis for a century – you may as well say he died then, he might not wake up, he could stay frozen as he fades away. He's already gone."

As he spoke his voice was hushed and he was still looking down at Jayden's body, thinking of his close friend and feeling the pain of his loss all over again and now that pain felt so sharp it seemed like the explosion had happened yesterday...

This would not be easy. It would mean saying goodbye to him, and mourning him, all over again. But to decide between letting him go and giving him a chance, albeit a slender one, was almost too much to bear...

"Can you help me?"she asked, "I can take us anywhere in the universe, anywhere, one flight – there must be a place where he stands a chance of survival."

The Doctor thought about it.

"We would need a time when cybernetics are highly advanced, when synthetic organs are perfected...I suppose we could try here on Earth around five hundred years from now...cybernetics and synthetic organs were very advanced by then... But don't expect this to work, Idris. You only have to look at him to see how bad it is."

She nodded, and then she looked down at Jayden, his clothing bloodied and his wounds gaping.

"But we must try."

"Yes," he replied, "I feel I should say no and let him go, but I can't because he is my friend and a chance, no matter how small, has to be worth trying for."

Idris walked out of the room and the Doctor followed her.

"What are you doing?"

"You said yes, so the time is now..."  
She started to glow.

"No!" he said, "Not yet, Ace is outside and -"

Ed fell silent, watching as the walls shimmered and cracked and then as the place shifted, he was standing in the console room of his Tardis once more – a wide, vast room of white walls and polished black console with soft spotlights above set in the ceiling. He had not seen this console since the battle to save the Earth.

"Five hundred years, yes I can do that," she said, and as she glowed warmly, a large crystal glowed in the middle of the console, rose and fell, and the Tardis began to vanish.

* * *

Ace had felt a jolt as the wall behind her shifted.

Then the world had shimmered and she had blinked, heard the sound of a departing Tardis and turned sharply as she stared in disbelief:

_The house was gone, now all she saw was the familiar sight of a blue box fading from view..._

She ran towards it.

"_Doctor!" _she yelled, but the Tardis faded in and out of sight, and then it was gone.

Ace turned back, looked around, feeling slightly dizzy at the sudden change:

There was no house, no garden, no old wall that hid a maze.

It was all gone, she was standing in the middle of a field, and beyond it, lie woodland.

The Tardis had folded up, reformed and.._.left without her?_

She looked skywards as hurt reflected in her eyes and she thought of all the times the Professor had kept secrets, never quite letting her in on everything:

"_You'd better come back for me, Ed!"_ she said as she continued to look up and think about a time and place far away, _"You'd better come back!"_

* * *

As the Tardis shifted through time slowly, Idris remained in her human form.

She looked at Ed and smiled.

"I'm taking us through slowly, Doctor. I'm not the fast machine I used to be, the battle damage saw to that. When a girl's had part of her design wrecked like that nothing ever works in the same way again. I can still function, but differently. And the journey back will be the same. I must be slow and careful."

"I wish we hadn't left without Ace."

"I will take you back ten seconds after you left, she won't have much time to be angry with you!"

That remark had got him thinking a little too much.

"Do you think she's angry with me?"

"For now, yes but the return journey will cancel out that part."

"I hope you're right, I didn't want to leave her behind!"

"It is kinder to leave her," Idris replied, "At least for now – the sight of Jayden made her unwell."

"Of course it did, his insides are hanging out!"

"So Ace doesn't need to see this," she told him, and then she drew in a gasp as she placed her hand on her upper chest.

Her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked several times, and then she drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Oh that's better...the loop in time is complete...Rick just regenerated into you. And history will carry on as its meant to be."

And she smiled.

Ed looked at her in surprise.

"You really do feel every single one of my regenerations!"

"Well here with you at the end of your lifetimes, I feel echoes of the past all the time because the matrix is a part of it and I'm the matrix."

And then she cast a glance around the console room, and watched as the crystal in the centre of the console rose and fell in a graceful rhythm.

"We're almost there," she said, "Not long now..."

* * *

Far off in time and space, at the other end of the time line, Rick's regeneration had just happened, and the man who stood in his place cast aside the blood stained leopard print jacket, declared he hated turquoise and said he needed to redecorate.

And Jayden had stared at him.

"Doc?"

"Doctor. Not Doc. That was him. I'm not him, I'm me..."

And then he ran his fingers through his dark hair as he thought for a moment.

"_Who am I this time?"_

And then he turned to the darkened view of deep space beyond the viewing panel, and in its starless depths he saw his new face looking back at him reflected in the glass.

"Not bad at all!" he said, "I'm rather pleased with this one. Good thing I am, this is my last regeneration!"

And then he looked around the console room and back at Jayden.

"Where's Barbara?"

"She ran out of here crying when you regenerated."

"I'd better go and find her. She needs to understand I'm still the Doctor."

"And Doc -"

He gave a sigh.

"Doctor, not Doc, what?"

"You might want to get changed and clean yourself up first," Jayden told him, indicating to his shirt.

He looked down and saw blood stains.

"Right, I'll do that, Jayden," he replied, and then he left the console room.

A short while later, the newly regenerated Doctor had showered and changed his clothes and stood in front of a mirror admiring his new appearance as he ran a comb through his dark hair. Then he put the comb down and ran his hands down his red and gold waist coat and smiled into the mirror.

"No bad at all!" he said aloud, and then he looked closer and thought some more.

"What name shall this version of me have? I'm not Rick, he's gone...John Smith has been used far too many times..."

And then he snapped his fingers.

"I've got it! Edward...Ed, my name is Ed in this regeneration. Nice and short, easy to remember, the Doctor known as Ed...sets me apart from the others. Now, where is Barbara?"

And then he left the room, walked down the long and winding Tardis corridor, then stopped at a closed door and knocked.

"Barbara," he said, "It's me, it's the Doctor."

There was a long pause, and then she replied:

"I saw him die! Rick is gone, my husband is dead!"

"No, your husband lives! I regenerated, I don't look like him but I can assure you, I _am_ the Doctor. Can I come in?"

"The door is locked!" she said sharply.

Ed stepped closer, placing his hand on the lever.

"I promise you no door in the Tardis is locked to me, Barbara. And it's been a year since we married. And I just regenerated saving you because I love you. I realise this could take some time, but I'm still your husband and I've waited a long time for us to be together. So please, just look at me. Look in my eyes, you'll know who I am."

And he opened the door and walked into the bedroom.

Barbara was sitting on the bed, her long, sheer dress was stained with dirt and smoke from the explosion, and blood from his former life's injuries.

She turned her head, her alien skin as pale as her long fair hair, but her eyes stayed fixed on the bed and she would not look at him.

"So you can open any door. And now I want you to leave."

He stepped closer, walking over to her, and still her eyes were cast downward.

"I'm still the Doctor," he said again, "And you've been my virgin wife for long enough. And I'm not letting you walk away from me just because I've regenerated. Look at me, I'm still the Doctor. And I don't think you'll be disappointed."

She slowly raised her head and looked up at the man who stood beside her.

He smiled.

"Hello," he said warmly, "I'm the Doctor, but you can call me Ed."

And her dark eyes filled with tears as she started to smile, and then she reached for him and he embraced her, kissing her with passion that had been held back for a very, very long time...

_And while the past was playing out as it was meant to, at the other end of the wibbly, wobbly ball of timey-wimey stuff that was the Doctor's time line, while Ace waited on Earth, Ed travelled onwards into the future with Idris, clinging to the slender hope that Jayden Drake's life could still be saved..._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As the Tardis slowly shifted through the vortex, Ed watched the lights blinking on the console.

"It's been a century since I saw the Tardis like this," he told Idris, "I mean, it's exactly the way it was before the great battle. Except that Barbara is long dead - "

And then he shot her an alarmed glance as a thought hit him that he didn't want to consider to be possible even for a second...

"She_ is_ dead? Because I remember she died in my arms, so I'm really hoping you didn't hang on to her too without my knowledge."

"Barbara is dead," Idris replied, "But Jayden is not."

Ed breathed a relieved sigh.

"That's reassuring to know. It might sound like a terrible thing to be saying about her, but she's dead and I want her to stay that way – because I loved her. I wouldn't like to think you've kept her body or have plans on attempting to reanimate her. That would be completely wrong."

"_But not wrong to save Jayden."_

Idris had spoken quietly, her dark eyes looking downward as she avoided his gaze.

"I don't know," he told her honestly, "I suppose it's only right to try and save him if there is a chance. But that chance is _so _slender – he could die as soon as you release him from stasis. I'm going to land the Tardis just outside a major cybernetics medical centre. That means everything he needs is literally on our doorstep - but he could die being transferred from the Tardis, or he could die before they have time to even try and save him. His injuries are terrible, Idris. Just look at me, look into my eyes and tell me you understand that, please! Because I would never lie to you or give you false hope, and I do think you're hoping for far too much to come of this – Jayden was most likely moments from death when you preserved him. That means as soon as you let him go there's a strong possibility that he will simply die when the shield is lowered."

And Idris looked into his eyes, and it made his twin hearts ache to see so much hope shining there as she hoped for the near impossible, she was clinging to an outcome that was highly unlikely and despite the age and wisdom of the Tardis matrix, he knew her hope was springing from the deep love she felt for Jayden Drake.

"Idris," he said gently, "I don't think he's going to survive. I think he will die when you release him from stasis. And if he dies, he's _gone_, because that's what happens to humans, they rest in peace. Leave him in peace, let him go if this fails to work."

"I can not allow myself to think of failure," Idris said,"And neither should you, Doctor! You are a Time Lord and I am a Tardis matrix, we can go anywhere and do anything -"

She gave a gasp as her dark eyes grew wide.

"If this fails there _is _another way!"

"Idris -" Ed began as she grabbed at the sleeve of his shirt, but she continued:

"Listen to me, Doctor! If he does not survive we can always go back!"

Ed stared at her.

The Tardis matrix was not thinking as the great being she truly was – desperation was clouding her judgement, a dangerous state of mind indeed for such a powerful force to suffer...

"Idris," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders as he looked into her eyes, "I have explained the odds to you. Jayden will most likely die when you release him from stasis. You must accept that and prepare for the worst."

"_But we can always go back!"_

"Back where?" Ed demanded.

The dark eyes of Idris still shone with hope.

"We can go back to the day of the battle!"

Her suggestion had shocked him. Idris was certainly allowing desperation to cloud her judgement...

"We can't go back! How could I alter that day, refuse to fight? See the Earth destroyed to save the lives of two people? See billions wiped out in the name of utter selfishness?"

"But everything could be undone!" she told him, "You could save them both!"

He stepped back from her as anger blazed in his eyes.

"_Prevent their deaths at the cost of a whole planet? I would never do that! And I refuse to change the future. I can't alter the past, as much as I wish I could, it can't be done!" _

Idris was tearful once more.

"But perhaps you could still fight, but avoid catastrophe! Then they would live I would also avoid the structural damage I sustained!"

"_No!" _he yelled, _"It can't happen!" _

And as pain reflected in her eyes he felt it in his twin hearts as he recalled all the years they had travelled together.

"I would do anything within my power to bring back Barbara and Jayden," he said in a hushed voice, "Anything but harm the fabric of space and time! I made the choice long ago to harm none and that decision stands forever! I am so sorry, but we will not be going back. _There can never be any going back to that day._"

And as the Tardis landed Idris fell silent, she waited until the last echo of the materialising ship had faded out and then she drew in a slow breath and spoke quietly.

"We have arrived. I will release him from stasis now."

And then she left the console room and walked down the corridor, where she paused by a closed door and remained there as she waited for the Doctor to join her.

As he approached her, he felt sure the haunted look of sorrow and desperation he saw in her eyes would stay in his memory forever.

* * *

As the Doctor joined her, Idris placed her hand on the door and gently pushed it, then entered the small room where the lights shone starkly illuminating pale Tardis walls.

"Doctor?" she said, "Are you ready?"

Ed took in a deep breath as he looked down at Jayden Drake, his suit bloodstained and torn with hundred year old wounds shining fresh as he lay frozen in time, moments after enemy fire had torn a hole in the side of the Tardis.

"No," he said honestly, "I could never be ready for a moment like this."

And then he knelt down beside Jayden, and Idris did the same.

She hesitated for a moment, studying his face as he lay beneath the stasis field.

"Please wake, be alive," she whispered.

And as she stretched out her hand to break the barrier, Ed caught her wrist and held her back.

"_There could be another way," _he said.

Idris looked at him in confusion as he continued to hold her back from the stasis field.

"But you said there is no other way!"

"There could be one," he told her, "Remember when I was trapped in your power core and Ace asked Selena Eliot to fix the bolt gun wound while I was still in stasis? Well perhaps we can find the right kind of expert to help Jayden. If you release him now, we can fetch the trauma team from the medical centre and he may or may not survive but in the long term I don't believe he will be able to recover, even in this century with technology as advanced as it is. But if we find the right person to deal with his wounds, he may stand a chance. That's why I'm suggesting for now, we leave him in stasis."

But tears blurred her eyes as she shook her head.

"I was damaged in the great battle, you forget that part, Doctor – even with the power crystals to boost my energy I will not be capable of the many journeys we used to make. I have enough power to get us back to your chosen time and place to reunite with Ace, and then I will _never _be able to fly as the Tardis again."

And he held back his pain and the tears he wanted to shed as he took in all she had explained. Even though he had felt it was the right thing to do, to let badly wounded Jayden slip away as he should have done a hundred years before, now he knew his old friend had a slim chance, he wanted to take that chance, and even though he knew the odds of his survival were close to zero, the optimism that shone in the eyes of Idris was contagious. Of course he wanted Jayden back, but it seemed so impossible...

"Then we have this chance only," he told her, "There can be no delays. Either release him now or keep him in stasis, the choice is yours."

He let go of her wrist and her hand hovered above the energy field as she blinked away tears.

"You won't help me with this decision?"

Ed looked down at Jayden.

"He's been frozen for a century. He should have died after the explosion. Those are the facts as I see them and I wish we could have him back, and I know you love him but sometimes we have to let go even if it seems like the worst decision."

"How will you feel if he fails to live?" she asked.

He answered without hesitation.

"When living beings die those left behind carry on."

"But how?" she asked him.

"You just do," Ed replied as he recalled the day of the battle when Barbara died in his arms, "You carry on because you must and you keep those left behind in your memory. That way, they never truly die."

"I keep many of your strays in my memory," Idris said, "And all your other selves and I can go back and visit them any time I want to...shifting back through the past like a ghost."

"And you are fortunate to be able to do that," Ed told her, "Most of us can only revisit through memories alone."

"If this fails," she added, "Jayden of the past will only know me as a breeze that touches his face, or passes through him – while yesterdays me will take him in my arms, and then he will push aside all notion of a ghostly presence and never know of my visits from a future time, or what they mean."

"But at least you would have that," Ed replied, "And this choice is yours alone to make."

Idris looked down at Jayden.

"_If we keep him in stasis he could remain there forever."_

And then she lowered her hand and as it made contact with the stasis field the bubble shimmered, then cracked and shattered like glass, the fragments burning up, evaporating in the air around them.

* * *

Jayden slumped to floor and its once flawless white surface began to stain crimson as blood pooled beneath him and and started to spread. Ed carefully lifted him, cradling him in his arms as he placed his hand over a gaping wound in his side, the gesture was a futile one and he knew it as Jayden's blood began to run between his fingers and spill to the floor, but there was little else he could do as he looked down at him and wondered if his dear friend was already gone.

And then Jayden coughed and looked up at him.

"_We...we got hit...blew a hole in the ships side..."_

"Yes I know," Ed said gently, "And it's over now. We won the battle."

Jayden briefly smiled.

"_Good," _he said weakly, _"I'm glad..." _Then pain registered on his face and he took in rapid, shallow breaths, "Tell me I did good...I tried to be a hero."

"And you are," Ed promised him, "And you're also wounded and I must fetch help."

As Idris shifted closer he carefully moved Jayden into her waiting arms and then got up.

"I'll hurry," he promised her, and then dashed from the room.

As Idris held him, he looked up and smiled.

"How did you get here so fast?"

"Long story," she told him, "But I shall stay beside you, Jayden Drake. When your wounds have been repaired I can do the rest, I can heal you."

He gave a sigh and his face paled as his blood continued to run on to the Tardis floor.

"I love you so much Idris," he whispered, "So much...I'm so glad you're here. And I was brave, I tried to be a hero...promise me you'll remember that."

She looked at him with deepest love in her eyes.

"I will never forget that," she promised him, "and you must hold on, the Doctor is fetching help."

_"Is he? Tell him thanks..."_ he whispered, and then he slumped dead in her arms.

* * *

Ed had reached the console room when he heard a cry of anguish echo from the Tardis corridor. Pain in his own hearts brought tears to his eyes and by the time he had turned back and gone up the corridor to the room where Jayden had been bleeding on the floor, his face was streaked with tears. He had been determined to hold back his emotion while Jayden lived, but now he knew he was gone tears burned at his eyes as if they would never cease to flow.

Idris was on the floor cradling Jayden's body. Ed joined her, gently prising him from her grip as he whispered that he was gone now, and then he held him tightly, looked down at the face of his dead friend and placed a kiss on his brow as he whispered _Goodbye_ in Gallifreyan, and then he gently lowered him to the floor once more.

Idris was still sobbing.

Ed drew her into his arms and held her.

"He died with you," he said softly, "In your arms, he was not alone. And now you must keep him in your memory and carry on, because that is all you can do now."

As she wept in his arms she felt so broken and fragile he knew at that moment it would be easy to forget she was the Tardis matrix as she sobbed for her lost love. Ed held her tighter and they wept together on the floor, as they sat beside the body of Jayden Drake.

Ed stayed with Idris until her sobs grew quiet and her body had stopped shaking. Then he let her go and spoke quietly to her.

"We must go back now. We will bury Jayden in the Tardis gardens when the ship unfolds once more. That way he will always be with both of us."

Idris nodded.

"Yes," she agreed, taking his hand as he got up and helped her to stand, "That way I shall hold him forever."

Then they walked together back down the corridor and into the console room.

"And what about you," he asked, "What about your future? Do you still want to leave? Because you could if you wanted to, the power crystals can easily maintain the unfolded Tardis and you could depart any time you wish. I'm in my final lifetime, and you're barely capable of flight as a space time vessel now. You're entitled to leave if you want to."

Idris shook her head.

"I would rather seep back into the walls of the Tardis and live as its heart, take you home and then unfold the house and garden and maze. And then I can quietly rest as you and Ace live in my walls and and run around and play in my maze, while I hold Jayden Drake in a warm embrace beneath the ground. And when I want to wander, I shall go back through memories of a time when he once lived."

And although her eyes were glazed with tears, Idris smiled.

"You will be happy with Ace. And one day your children will play in my garden and maze and the sound of their laughter will bring me such joy. I do love you, my beautiful thief, but my heart will forever belong to Jayden Drake."

Ed smiled and fondly touched her cheek.

"You belong here," he told her, "You are the Tardis, Idris, I'm happy you've decided to stay."

And then her form briefly shimmered and regained solidity.

She stepped back as she began to glow and sparkle.

"And now for one last flight," she announced, "I have to take you home to Ace, Doctor!"

Then she shimmered again, glowed brightly and as her form twisted into ribbons of light, those ribbons flew gracefully about the Tardis walls and console. Then the Tardis was filled with the sound of its usual low him and the console lit up. With a whoosh and a groan the police box shifted dimension, starting on a slow and careful journey back home.

* * *

As the Tardis travelled onwards, Ed stood in silence at the console as he looked out at the view of the time vortex as the ship glided through, heading for starlit space and another time and place far away.

He had wanted to spend this time holding Jayden's body, saying a last farewell – but he had already said goodbye, and with the Tardis shaky on flight ability, he did not want Idris to pick up on such raw emotion when it was taking all of her power to simply keep the Tardis in flight.

Then he thought of all Idris had told him, about how she would share in their happiness, how she would enjoy him and Ace living forever in her walls... and their children, too.

Ed started to smile.

"Me and Ace are going to have a family one day? That gives me something to look forward to."

And he gave the console an affectionate pat.

"Thanks for telling me that, old girl," he said fondly.

* * *

Ace had been standing at the edge of the field watching the sun sink lower in the sky as the afternoon heat began to fade and the brightness of the day darkened to golden evening light. Her thoughts had been focussed on a far away distant time and place as she thought of Ed and Idris and wondered if they would be returning with Jayden.

Then she had wondered _when_ they would be coming back – she knew the Doctor well enough to understand he would not intentionally leave her waiting for years, as soon as the situation was resolved, he would return – at least, she hoped he would be back soon, because she also knew the Doctor had always been in the habit of finding himself in situations on his travels, usually involving trouble or danger, and she hoped that would not be the case this time, not now he had no regenerations left...

"Please come back soon," she said as she looked to the sky, "And please, no trouble, no danger – just come home, Doctor, I miss you..."

* * *

As the Tardis continued on the homeward journey, a spark of light split the air and Ed stared in surprise at the sight of Idris, back again so soon...

"I thought you'd gone back inside the Tardis?"

"I needed to go in to start the flight home," she told him, "And soon I'll be returning to these walls, but I'd rather wait until we land."

"Why?" he asked her.

She hesitated.

"It's about Jayden..."

"He's dead! I'm sorry Idris but that's a fact - there's nothing that can be done now."

A brief flicker of pain shone in her eyes and then it was gone.

"I know that. I just wanted to explain something. When we land I will unfold the Tardis, everything will be as it was before – the maze, the garden...but there will be a marble headstone beneath the shade of the willow tree. And the spot is perfect, in the morning the tree will shade him from the heat and in the evening the stone will be bathed in a golden glow as the sun sinks to rest. There is a panel that covers the grave, release it and steps lead downward. Jayden is in a crypt in a glass coffin and he will never decay. I shall preserve him forever in the hope that one day his life can be restored."

Ed looked at her sadly.

"I really don't think that can happen, Idris."

"But we can not be sure, as you said, you are the Doctor and no one knows who may seek you out some day."

He gave a sigh.

"I'm sure this will give you hope," he told her, "But I really do believe he is gone forever."

"Please don't give up," she told him, "Think of all the wonders we have encountered throughout the years, throughout our travels through time and the twelve galaxies! There could still be more to discover, even now as you live out your final life and I am settled grounded, someone could seek us and bring with them a miracle!"

"I do understand what you're saying," Ed replied, "But I have no reason to believe any one would seek me out now, in my final life to share a miracle. But if you want to believe it, then do, but just don't believe it too much."

"I will remain as Idris for a short while longer," she told him, "After we land, after you are reunited with Ace, I need to speak with you."

He gave another sigh.

"Idris, I told you, there's little chance that -"

"_This is not about Jayden Drake."_

Ed stared at her, the look in her eyes had changed, and he knew at once there was much more she needed to say before she faded back into the Tardis as matrix.

"Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly," she said, "But I want your future to be good, I want you to be happy, so very happy -"

"And it _will_ be!"

She still had a troubled look in her eyes.

"Doctor, when your former self handed you back key memories perhaps he should have thought a little about the matter first. There are some you are better off without."

Her remark confused him.

"There are no memories handed back to me that I regret, those recollections are of all my lives, Idris!"

"But there is one -"

She stopped abruptly as the Tardis landed.

"Give me a minute, Doctor," she told him, and then she closed her eyes and shimmered and sparkled, and walls shifted and the console vanished as the Tardis began to unfold.

* * *

Ace heard the Tardis land, and then a cracking and a splitting and the sound of earth shifting.

She turned around and looked back through the clearing and her face lit up in a radiant smile – from where she stood she could see the garden gate, and the garden beyond it and just a little further down, the house... it was all back, exactly as it had been before!

"_At last!" _she exclaimed, and then she ran towards the gate, impatient to be reunited with the Doctor once more.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

As Ace ran into the garden she slowed her pace, surprised to see Ed and Idris walking out of the house together.

_Just Ed and Idris, no Jayden..._

Then as she met him in the middle of the path she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so glad you're back!" she exclaimed, "I've missed you so much!"

And Ed kissed her and hugged her again, and then he let go.

"I've missed you too," he told her, and then the sparkle in his eyes faded.

"But we couldn't save Jayden. He died within moments of being removed from stasis."

"He died?" Ace said in a hushed voice.

Idris looked over to the spot below the willow tree where there now stood a white marble grave stone.

A wave of sadness swept over Ace.

"Poor Jayden," she said, "I'm so sorry he didn't make it."

"So am I," Idris replied, and sorrow reflected in her eyes.

"He wanted to live so desperately," Ed told her, "But he couldn't have survived, Ace – his wounds were too severe. He died quickly, Idris was beside him."

And then he recalled how uncomfortable Ace had been at the thought of the body hidden away in the Tardis for so long.

"Are you all right with his grave being out here in the garden? If not, Idris can always move it to a less conspicuous place."

"I'm fine with that," Ace said quickly, "leave him where he is, it's such a peaceful spot."

And then as she saw a flicker of pain in his eyes she guessed there was little she could say to alleviate his grief.

"I wish things could have been different," Ace said quietly, "It must have been so terrible to lose him all over again."

"Terrible for both of us," Idris added.

And then for a moment no one spoke as the breeze sighed gently through the garden.

It was Ed who broke the silence, his mood instantly brightened as he looked to Ace and swiftly changed the subject.

"Well, I'm back now, and Idris is about to fade back into the heart of the Tardis. And I could really do with some tea!"

Ace smiled.

"When do you _never_ want tea, you're the Doctor! I'll go and put the kettle on." And then she fondly kissed his cheek and turned to Idris.

"Can't you stay for just a little while longer?"

"No," she replied, "it's time for me to return, but I'm always around – I'm the heart of the Tardis, I'm in the walls of the house, the grass beneath your feet and the leaves that shift in the breeze when the wind passes through. And I'm in the tunnels of the maze and all its wonderful zones. I'm everywhere."

"And its been so nice to met you," Ace replied.

Then she gave her a brief hug, let go and glanced to Ed.

"I'll go and make that tea now," she said, feeling certain the Doctor need some privacy to say goodbye to the human version of the Tardis.

* * *

Ed watched as Ace left the garden and went into the house, and then he turned to Idris.

"So, what is this memory of mine that you're so keen for me to get rid of, because I can't think what it could be! I'm very happy to have my memories back."

"Of course you are," she replied, "But some memories can stir up painful recollections... and I see and feel so much, your past, your present -"

"Not again!" Ed said to her, "You told me the time streams would cross, and they have and the situation is now resolved. It's all over."

"But there is still one memory I would like to help you with. Let me help you to forget her."

"Forget who, Idris?"

She paused, not wanting to share all she had sensed about the near future, because the fabric of time was sensitive material, much like the emotions it would bring with it...

"Who are you talking about?" Ed asked her again.

"_I can make you forget,"_ Idris said to him, _"If you want me to, I can make you forget you ever knew the name Rose Tyler."_

Ed stared at her.

"Rose? I haven't thought about her for many lifetimes! It was so long ago, back in my Ninth and Tenth lives, And yes, I loved her, but..."

Ed fell silent for a moment, his memory shifting back to the day he had projected his image across dimensions to explain he could no longer reach her, and said, _"Rose Tyler, I -"_ and then his image had faded out and he had found himself alone in the Tardis as tears ran down his face... Rose had been left in the other dimension, ending up with his human double...that was how it had ended, he had been so close and yet so far and he had not thought about her for centuries yet thinking of her now made his twin hearts ache, and he abruptly pushed that notion aside as ridiculous.

"That was such a long time ago!" he said dismissively, "I forgot about her centuries back – and I'm with Ace now, I'd waited for her since my Seventh life, she was always destined to be with me in the end! I wouldn't change anything – I've no regrets."

She looked into his eyes.

"You're certain you don't want me to take her out of your memory?"

Ed looked at her kindly.

"It's nice of you to offer, but no thank you, Idris. I promise you I am over Rose Tyler and have been for hundreds of years."

"As long as you're sure," Idris replied, "I just don't want your memories to cause you sadness."

"And it's very kind of you to offer," he told her, "But I'll be fine. And it's been wonderful to see you like this again, to be able to talk to you. It's been centuries since we last did that."

Idris smiled.

"Remember I'm always around," she told him, "And I'll always be here."

And then she shimmered, and as her image faded her voice sounded like a happy echo:

"_This time, I had enough time for hello and goodbye, but it's not really goodbye, my beautiful thief..."_

And then she vanished, and Ed stood there alone in the garden, feeling certain Idris was right: She was all around him, he felt her presence everywhere, just as he always had when the Tardis had been a police box...

* * *

_Idris was reaching back._

She shimmered in the heart of the Tardis, and then she shifted back through the corridors of the past, corridors as long and winding as the Tardis corridors of old.

Then she stepped into the console room, it was one week after Rick had regenerated into Ed and several months before the matrix would assume the form of Idris to seduce Jayden for the first time...

Idris stood unseen and ghostly, smiling as she watched Ed and Jayden talking together at the Tardis console:

"I'm_ so_ sorry!" Ed said as he looked across the controls to his companion.

Jayden leaned on the other side of the console, the light bouncing off his metallic eye patch as he looked at the Doctor.

"Listen Doc – sorry, _Doctor_, I'm happy that you and Barbara have so much fun together at night, but I have to listen to every detail when I see you in the morning, because you always tell me about it, I don't have to _hear_ you both in action as well, it keeps me awake!"

And Idris giggled softly, but neither man heard her, nor did they see her as she walked around the console and stood beside Jayden.

"Well I'm sorry about that," Ed was saying, "I'll try and keep the noise down, but she is rather loud when she's enjoying herself, and very spontaneous too, I don't always have time to close the bedroom door!"

And as Idris looked at Jayden she ached to hold him and the thought of him cold and no longer alive in the distant future made her eyes glaze with tears.

She stepped closer, feeling love flowing from her like a gentle heat, and then she kissed his cheek.

Now Ed was staring at Jayden, who had briefly touched his own face and then glanced to the empty space beside him.

"Are you listening to me?"

Jayden nodded.

"Yeah...of course I was. It's just that I thought I felt something touch me."

"You must be imagining it, there's no one here except us," Ed replied, and then Jayden laughed.

"I must be imagining things – your fault, I'm not getting enough sleep at night!"

And as she stood beside him unseen, Idris blinked away tears.

"_I do love you, Jayden Drake," _she whispered.

* * *

Ed was still standing alone in the garden. He looked around and then listened, and sure enough, the low hum of the Tardis could still be heard between the breeze shifting leaves and the song of birds.

He thought about what Idris had said and dismissed the idea:

_Why should old memories of Rose Tyler cause him pain now? _

_He had known her so very long ago..._

Then he dismissed the thought and looked over at the white marble that marked Jayden's grave. He guessed the only one likely to be saddened by old memories was Idris, who could now only visit Jayden by drifting back in time through her own recollections.

And then Ace called to him.

He saw her standing in the doorway bathed in the golden glow of the fading sun and felt sure she had never looked so beautiful, and that it had never felt so good to be back home.

"Hurry up!" she called out, "The tea's getting cold!"

And Ed walked back towards the house, casting a final glance at Jayden's grave. He caught sight of the inscription on it and it made him smile, because the words were simple, but just what his companion would have wanted:

_Jayden Drake_

_HERO._

* * *

**The End**

**Author Note: This Trilogy will be concluded with The last Doctor: Legend of the Maze master Book 3 : In Memoria.**


End file.
